Has* .PS 4 1/1) 
Book . C^X.^ 

) 



i 



! 



THE S**t± 



THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CASTE; 



BEING AN INQUIRY INTO 



THE EFFECTS OF CASTE 



ON THE 



INSTITUTIONS AND PROBABLE DESTINIES 



ANGLO-INDIAN EMPIRE. 



BY 

B. A. IRVING, Esq., B.A., 

ASSISTANT-MASTER IN THE ROYAL INSTITUTION SCHOOL, LIVERPOOL; LATK 
FOUNDATION SCHOLAR OF EMMANUEL COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ; AUTHOR 
OF THE NORRISIAN PRIZE ESSAY FOR 1851, AND THE LE BAS 
PRIZE ESSAYS FOR 1851 AND 1852. 



LONDON: 
SMITH, ELDER & CO., 65, CORNHILL. 

BOMBAY: SMITH, TAYLOR & CO. 
1853. 



3 6 ♦** 

C-3 >' 



The Author of this work reserves to himself the right of authorizing 
a translation of it. 



London: 

Printed by Stswaet and Muss ay, 
Old Bailey. 



TO 



THE REV. CHARLES WEBB EE BAS 



IN WHOSE HONOUR A PRIZE FOR 



ENGLISH LITERATURE 



WAS FOUNDED IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, 



IS WITH PERMISSION HUMBLY DEDICATED 



THE AUTHOR. 



LE BAS PEIZE. 



As the circumstances which gave rise to the foun- 
dation of the Le Bas Prize (which was awarded to the 
following Essay in 1851) at the University of Cam- 
bridge, are probably unknown to the generality of 
readers, the subjoined notice may not be uninteresting. 

In December 1843, the Rev. Charles Webb Le Bas, 
who had been Principal of the Honourable East 
India Company's College at Haileybury for more than 
thirty years, resigned. On the occasion of his health 
being proposed by the Chairman of the Court of 
Directors, he stated, that his motive was " a firm per- 
suasion that it had become his duty as an honest man, 
to render up his trust into younger and more able 
hands." Such conduct, such motives, as noble as they 
are rare, need no praise'of ours. 

In the speech in which he pathetically bade fare- 
well to all connected with the College, he incidentally 
made use of the following words, without the slightest 



vi 



LE BAS PRIZE. 



expectation that they would ever travel beyond the 
four walls within which they were uttered : — " To my 
position here, and to my long continuance in it, I owe 
the ability to say, that I have been known — perhaps I 
might presume to add, that I am not entirely unremem- 
bered — among all the individuals, with no very con- 
siderable exceptions, who now form the body of your 
civil service, throughout the whole length and breadth 
of your Eastern Empire." 

The words in italics found their way to India ; there 
they flew abroad like wildfire, and the result was a 
subscription for founding something, as a testimonial 
of the esteem with which Mr. Le Bas was justly 
regarded by all who had been under his charge, and 
for perpetuating the memory of his services. A fund, 
amounting to about 1,920Z. three per cent, consols, was 
ultimately offered to the University of Cambridge for 
founding an annual prize, to be called in honour of 
Mr. Le Bas, the Le Bas Prize, for the best English 
Essay on a subject of general literature, such subject 
to be occasionally chosen with reference to the history, 
institutions, and probable destinies and prospects of 
the Anglo-Indian Empire. 

This munificent offer was accepted, and the Prize 
was subjected to the following regulations, which were 
confirmed by Grace of the Senate, Nov. 22, 1848 

" 1. That the Le Bas Prize shall consist of the 
annual interest of the above-mentioned fund, the 



LE BAS PRIZE. 



vii 



Essay being published at the expense of the successful 
Candidate. 

" 2. That the Candidates for the Prize shall be, at 
the time when the subject is given out, Bachelors of 
Arts under the standing of M. A.; or Students in 
Civil Law or Medicine, of not less than four, or more 
than seven years' standing, not being graduates in 
either faculty, but having kept the exercises, necessary 
for the degree of Bachelor of Law or Medicine. 

" 3. That the subject for the Essay shall be selected, 
and the Prize adjudicated by the Vice-Chancellor, and 
two other members of the Senate, to be nominated by 
the Vice- Chancellor, and approved by the Senate at 
the first Congregation after the tenth day of October 
in each year. 

" 4. That the subject shall be given out in the week 
preceding the division of the Michaelmas Term in 
each year, and the Essays sent in before the end of 
the next ensuing Easter Term." 

The following are the names of those who have 
already obtained the Prize : — 

1849— C. B. Scott, B. A. Trinity College. 

1850— B. F. Westcot, B. A. Trinity College. 

1851 — B. A. Irving, B. A. Emmanuel College. 

1852 — B. A. Irving, B. A. Emmanuel College. 



PREFACE. 



When we consider that in India and the adjacent 
islands, not much less than one-fourth of the popu- 
lation of the whole world, is dependent upon Great 
Britain for prosperity and good government, the 
ignorance of the generality of persons in this country 
upon all affairs connected with our Eastern possessions 
is something astounding. Every idea concerning them 
is loose and unconnected. That their inhabitants are 
idolaters and burn their widows — that many Euro- 
peans have there gained large fortunes by very ques- 
tionable means, and have returned home with ruined 
constitutions — that we have gained numerous victories 
over the natives, and are now waging an expensive 
war with the King of Burmah — are the confined 
notions of those distant regions, possessed by the 
mass of Englishmen. Whilst the majority of the 
educated know a little about Plassy and Assaye, and 
were once pretty well acquainted with the triumphs of 



X 



PREFACE. 



Bacchus beyond the Indus, and Alexander's victory 
over Porus. 

As the object of an essay is not so much to furnish 
information on any subject, as to discuss what is 
already known, I have to regret this neglect of Indian 
affairs, which gives me few readers, and still fewer 
who can appreciate the justice or injustice of my 
remarks. These have been the result of considerable 
reading, and a careful examination of both sides of 
every question. 

In regard to caste many misconceptions have pre- 
vailed, the effects of which have too often manifested 
themselves in the course of policy pursued by this 
country towards the Hindoos. The tendency of those 
enactments in which its regulations have been re- 
garded to an unbecoming degree has, in general, been 
to retard the progress of civilization and social im- 
provement in India. The conclusion has been arrived 
at, whether rightly or not time may show, that an 
undue importance has been given to the prejudices of 
caste, in regard to both the political and religious im- 
provement of that country. That our missionaries 
more especially have too often misunderstood its spirit, 
and have thought it their duty to render it an anta- 
gonist where it might, with the most perfect pro- 
priety, have been employed as their most valuable ally. 

Though the nature of the subject has confined me 
within narrow limits, the requisite researches have 



PREFACE. 



xi 



brought before me many points connected with India, 
which, though of vast importance, have not been 
touched upon, as irrelevant to the subject. In the 
licence of a preface, however, I cannot forbear from 
calling the attention of those into whose hands this 
work may fall, to a few facts which at the present 
moment, when we are on the point of again legis- 
lating for that country, ought to occupy the attention 
of Englishmen. 

I would direct their mind to the historic fact, that 
commercial, and in consequence, political greatness 
have ever fallen to the lot of those nations, which have 
engaged extensively in trade with the distant East, 
That India and her dependencies have immense re- 
sources, mineral and otherwise, undeveloped ; that she 
could at the same, or even less expense, supply us 
with tea, sugar, coffee, and many other necessaries of 
life and articles of luxury, which we import in immense 
abundance from other regions. That India is the 
native country of the cotton plant, and even the more 
valuable species might still be grown there, in almost 
sufficient abundance to meet the demand of our manu- 
facturers. That to effect this the introduction of ca- 
pital, the encouragement of trade, the construction of 
roads, railways, and canals, as well for traffic as irri- 
gation, are necessary. That the introduction of steam 
as a motive power has now-a-days become the grand 
agent of civilization. 



xii 



PREFACE. 



We would draw attention to the fact, that Free 
Trade has had in India a longer trial than in our own 
country ; that its results have been such as were ex- 
pected ; that it is a policy which deserves our confi - 
dence, and should he extended to the internal as well 
as external trade of the Peninsula. 

That the cause of education is making rapid pro- 
gress with the happiest results ; that by this means the 
natives will be best prepared for a constitutional form 
of government, which is, and should be, the grand 
object of all our legislation. 

That centralization has been carried to an undue 
extent, and the natives too much excluded from posi- 
tions of trust and confidence ; that to interest them in 
our rule, and to gain a clear conception of Indian 
affairs ourselves, will be the safest means of ensuring 
a vigorous government in India, and of knitting to- 
gether more firmly those bands of mutual advantage, 
which have so long enabled a few thousand English- 
men to exact a willing obedience from the numerous 
and powerful races of Indostan. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

CASTE AS IT IS IN THEOKY, ACCORDING TO THE CODE 
OF MENU— CASTE AS IT PREVAILS AT THE PRESENT 
DAY. 

Page 

European ideas of India tinged with the marvellous ... 1 

Conflicting accounts of Hindoo caste 3 

The principle of caste, in what it consists 4 

Description of caste from the Code of Menu: — 6 
The Bramins — their duties and privileges— the four divisions of 
their life . . . . . . . . ' , .7 

The Cshatryas — the military caste . . . . . .10 

The Vaisyas — the mercantile caste . . . . . .11 

The Sudras— their condition and relation to the Bramins— 

not slaves 11 

The Code of Menu— what, and how far oheyed— its real effects on 

caste . . ' 14 

Caste as it is in practice— two great castes, the Bramins and Sudras 

—their suhdivisions how formed and named . . . .16 
Caste no longer ties a person down to an hereditary occupation . 18 
Has never influenced the rise of men in society . . . .19 
In some respects like English caste— illustrations . . .22 
Europeans want the train of thought, &c, necessary for under- 
standing caste 24 

The object of the essay to trace the general effects of a general 

principle 26 

Examples of caste— in regard to food, employment, &c. . . 26 
Order in which our subject is treated 29 



xiv 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER H. 

EFFECTS OF CASTE ON THE POLITICAL, MILITARY, 
AND CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 

Page 

Oriental and European history contrasted 30 

Where the effects of caste are to he detected ..... 32 
How caste affected the policy of the E. I. C, in regard to the 
natives, native Christians, &c — case of a native turned out of 

his regiment for embracing Christianity 33 

Caste has no idea of popular government 36 

It obstructs the benevolent feelings . ... . . .37 

Destroys patriotism and zeal in pursuing public benefits, encou- 
rages selfishness— hence the prevalence of decoitee, &c. in India 38 
Effects of caste on the Indian army . . . . .41 

Its mixed character .... .... 43 

Caste tends to prevent amalgamation, and so hinders insubordi- 
nation and mutiny . 43 

Causes, &c, of the mutiny at Vellore in 1806 . . . .45 
Mutinies in India never formidable, and why . . . .47 

Faithfulness of the sepoys 48 

History of two great riots at Benares, and conduct of sepoys . 49 

Their gallant conduct on several occasions 51 

General Notts testimony to it . . . . . .54 

Causes of the failure of Count Lally's expeditions . . .54 

His ignorance of caste, &c . . .54 

The judicious conduct of Government in regard to caste in our 
army . . . • . . . . . . .55 

It is the interest of the sepoys to serve us faithfully . . .56 
Our empire one " of opinion "—meaning of this expression . 58 

Power how supported . . .59 

Government, why justified in refusing employment to native 

Christians . . . 60 

Total absence of rebellion in India 61 

Government, though openly favouring caste, has by the general 
spirit of its legislation undermined its influence . . .61 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



CHAPTER in. 

THE EFFECTS OF CASTE ON THE SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC 
INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA. 



I. Its Influence on the Natives themselves. 



Page 



It has fostered civilization up to a certain point, and then retarded 

it— this true in the case of the Egyptians, Etrurians, &c. 
It has cramped the mental vigour of the Hindoos 
Its effects on the character of the villages : — 
Account of the village system— its origin, <fec. — its effect on in- 
dividual liberty — the state of India— the prosperity of its 
agriculture— Sir C. T. Metcalfe on the village system . 
It has prevented India from relapsing into barbarism . . .76 

It has prevented abuse of despotic power 76 

Europeans have few opportunities of learning the domestic cha- 
racter of natives . . . . 

Their affection to their family, and many virtues fostered by caste 
The laws of inheritance, &c, how set aside by caste— community 

of goods 

The notorious perjury of the Hindoos, how traced to caste 
It has produced combinations for the commission of crimes 
E. g. Decoitee— Thuggee— its horrible character, &c. . 
The Pindarees and Sennassie Fakirs— their fearful ravages 
Gangs of bullies in the towns in Upper India 



70 



71 



II. 



Influence of Caste on the Intercourse between 
Europeans and the Natives. 



The number of servants entertained by the English . . .92 
They hire Pariahs, &c, and neglect the rules of Oriental etiquette 93 
They are sometimes the dupes of their servants . . . .94 
They neglect the acquaintance of the natives ... .95 
Obstacles to familiar intercourse independent of caste . . .96 
The practice of the French . . . . . . . .96 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE EFFECTS OE CASTE ON THE MORAL AND RE- 
LIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF 
INDIA. 

Pagb 

The virtues of the Hindoos axe passive, not active . . . .98 
The noble character of the Rajpoots, and the crimes which caste 

produces among them 101 

Slavery— how in existence— Government regulations concerning 

it— its mild character— its strongholds the harems and the 

temples — the harshness of the Mahometan law on this subject 

how practically modified 102 

A man's caste is his character— Hindoos in remote villages better 

than those in town frequented by Europeans . . . . 108 
Caste and superstition act and re-act xipon one another :— 

Religious mendicity— Eairagees, Yogis, &c 109 

Bramins, their means of livelihood, character, and its pecu- 
liarities . . . . 110 

Loss of caste— great mutual forbearance 113 

A consideration of what would probably have been the character 

of the Hindoos, if destitute of caste ...... 116 

The general morality of the people has counterbalanced the effects 

of a religion which encourages vice 118 



CHAPTER V. 

CASTE AS IT AFFECTS THE CONVERSION OF THE 
HINDOOS TO CHRISTIANTY. 

Extent of Christianity in India— indifferent success of Protestant 
missionaries 119 

I.— Chief Obstacles to the Conversion of the Hindoos, 

AND HOW FAR AFFECTED BY CASTE. 

1. Inadequacy of the means employed— small number of mis- 
sionaries compared with the extent of the country . . 121 



CONTENTS. 



xvii 



Pag« 

2. Missionaries have addressed themselves too much to the 

lower castes— false reasons for this— conduct of Apostles, 
&c 122 

3. Injudicious conduct of missionaries —learned the language 

from the vulgar— associated with Pariahs, &c. . . . 125 

A consideration of the success of the Jesuit missions and its 
causes . . . . . . . . . . 126 

An account of the mission at Madura — Fra dei Nobili— mis- 
sionaries for the Pariahs alone, &c— the charlatanism of 
the Jesuits— similarity between Roman Catholic and Hin- 
doo superstitions ... . 127 

4. Caste may co-exist with Christianity :— , r ~ 
Missionaries wrong in preaching a crusade against caste . 133 
Comparison between the condition of the negroes in the 

United States and the Pariahs 133 

It might be allowed of at the Holy Communion . . . 135 
It should not be used as a means of punishment in our 

schools . . . . . . ' . . . . 136 

The success of Schwartz' missionary labours and its causes . 138 

5. The passion of the Hindoos for the extraordinary and the 

monstrous : — 

The miracles of the Eamayana, &c, much more wonderful 
than those of the Bible 140 

6. Irreligion of Europeans :— 

Native ideas of this subject— its causes— the devil-worshippers 

of Travancore 141 

Christian and Mahometan prayer contrasted .... 141 

7. The unassuming character of our ecclesiastical arrange- 

ments 143 

8. The want of society for native converts :— 

Their character often very indifferent, and their conduct in- 
judicious— instances— the object of missionary reports . 146 

9. Missionaries translate the Bible, <&c, into vulgar dialects and 

before they are competent : — 
Bidiculous boast of the missionaries at Serampore . . 149 



xviii 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

10. Their methods of attracting attention often injudicious : — 

Example of Mr. Judson at Eangoon . . . . . 150 
The Sikhs abolished caste under Naik Baba . . . 151 



II.— Caste in some respects paves the way for Christianity. 

1. The morality fostered by caste 152 

2. Caste no longer hinders conversion . . . . 153 

3. Eagerness of natives for education 153 

4. How caste may accelerate conversion 154 

Sentiments of the people are becoming much more en- 
lightened . . . . 155 

5. Our missionaries have devoted themselves to teaching, the 

peculiar duty of the Bramins, and are succeeding to the 
respect paid to them 157 

6. Effect of Bramins embracing Christianity— the endowments 

of temples may be applied to Christian Churches —tendency 
of conversion to produce a laxity of morals among the un- 
thinking ... ....... 159 

7. The overburdening ceremonies of caste may negatively favour 

the introduction of Christianity 161 



CHAPTER VL 

PROBABLE EFFECTS OF CASTE ON THE FUTURE 
DESTINIES OF INDIA. 

Unique character of our Indian empire— very different from the 

Roman empire 163 

Every event for a long time was a crisis 165 

The effects of caste upon politics, compared with those of Chris- 
tianity .......... .166 

In what depends the security of our Indian empire . . . 167 
The evils which would follow on relinquishing India . . .168 



CONTENTS. 



xix 



Pagb 

The number of disaffected persons daily decreasing . . . 169 

Caste in Egypt and India compared 171 

Caste and feudalism similar in their effects . . . . .171 
Utility of caste is gone— it is no longer necessary for preserving 

personal liberty and fostering civilization 172 

Introduction of steam, railways, &c, into India . . . .175 
Policy of giving native moonsiffs power over Europeans in some 

cases 176 

Indifference of natives to their old superstitions .... 177 
General feeling that Hinduism will be supplanted by Christianity 
Omens and prophecies to this effect— the pillar of Shiva at 

Benares 178 

Caste will yield to general enlightenment ..... 180 
The revision of the E. I. C.'s Charter, and the momentous ques- 
tions which it involves 181 



THE 

THEOBY AND PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



CHAPTER I. 

CASTE AS IT IS IN THEORY, ACCORDING TO THE 
CODE OF MENU— CASTE AS IT PREVAILS AT THE 
PRESENT DAY. 

" Plus on reflechit, plus on observe, et plus on se convainc de la 
fausete de la plupart de ces jugemen3 portes sur une nation entiere 
par quelques ecrivains, et adopte sans examen par les autres." 

L'Hermite de la Chaussee d'Antin, par de Jouy. 

From the remotest period, contemplated either by- 
history or even tradition, India has ever been the 
region of the strange and marvellous. The land, 
whose unnumbered inhabitants were not more cele- 
brated for their riches and power than they were 
illustrious for their learning and philosophy; the land, 
where rivers of peerless magnitude rolled down golden 
sands — where mountains teemed with gems of pure 

B 



2 



THE THEORY AND 



light — where fertile plains poured forth the gifts of 
Ceres with unremitting generosity. Such are our 
earliest accounts of India. It was the land of all that 
was paradoxical and anomalous. Though itself 
abounding with precious metals, its trade required a 
continual stream of gold and silver to flow thither, and 
yet aggrandized every nation which engaged in it.* 
Its inhabitants, though surrounded by wealth, were 
patterns of frugality. Its men, though born under 
the enervating influence of a tropical sky, possessed 
the most indomitable resolution. Its women, though 
paragons of all that is mild and affectionate, at the 
command of superstition assumed a sternness of cha- 
racter alien to their sex. 

Such are the accounts which have been constantly 
rousing the interest of western nations, and have given 
such a complexion to our ideas of India, that even yet, 
spite of our intimate acquaintance with every portion 
of that vast peninsula, the picture still glitters, as it did 
when Sir John Mandeville, Rubruquis, or Marco 
Polo, astonished Europe with the wild stories con- 
cerning it, which they had respectively collected in 
Persia, Tartary, and China. Our ideas are still 
tinged with the marvellous and the romantic ; we 
readily credit circumstances which would otherwise be 
rejected, except on the most incontrovertible evidence ; 
and we often too little regard those facts which 
demonstrate the real character of the country and its 
people. On no subject, perhaps, have greater mis- 

• Robertson's India-— passim. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



3 



conceptions prevailed than on that of caste, whose effects 
on the institutions and probable destinies of our Indian 
Empire we propose investigating. 

Some* have represented it as a salutary division of 
society, the religious observance of which early raised 
India to a high pitch of civilization, and amidst all her 
revolutions preserved her from relapsing into bar- 
barism. Others have pronounced it a baneful ordi- 
nance, which has cramped the vigour of the Hindoo 
in every age; which has debased his intellect, and 
introduced into his character that indolent apathy, for 
which he is remarkable even among Asiatics. Others, 
again will tell us that it has rilled the people with 
feuds, and jealousies, and hatred — that it has smothered 
every social feeling, severed every bond of fellowship, 
and that in consequence it has placed the country at 
the mercy of every invader. It has been remarked, as 
an historical fact, that of all who have made the 
attempt, none ever failed in establishing their su- 
premacy over the whole or part of Indostan. Others, 
again, whose residence in the East has been chiefly 
confined to Calcutta,f and who have had but few 
opportunities of examining the character of caste in 
other parts of the country, will represent it as little 
more than that spirit which, in England, leads our 
domestics to assert, with ridiculous tenacity, the rights 
of their respective stations. They will represent it as 

* Abbe Dubois, &c. 

+ In regard to matters of opinion, Calcutta bears nearly the same 
relation to India that Paris does to France. 



4 



THE THEORY AND 



this spirit, stretched to its utmost limits, and made 
respectable by the feelings of religion, by the injunc- 
tions of Vedas and the Shasters. 

Since, then, opinions so different have been formed 
concerning caste it will obviously be necessary, before 
tracing its effects, to examine clearly in what we 
consider it to consist — to examine its character, not 
merely as observed in this or that particular province 
or town, but as exhibited throughout the whole of 
India. Nor shall we always limit our attention to that 
country. We hold that though caste has always been 
developed there more fully than in any other region of 
the world, yet that it is not by any means confined to 
Indostan ; that it arises from a natural propensity of 
man to establish grades in society, which, though 
always prominent there, has at different times, even in 
other countries, exhibited some of the strongest lines of 
its character. 

Ranks and degrees, order and regularity, are essen- 
tial to the well-being of every community. The 
regulations of caste are nothing else than these, carried 
to an excess of refinement. It may be the part of a 
great and noble mind to free itself, in regard to this 
subject, from minute scrupulosity, yet no one can 
entirely release himself from its trammels. Its 
existence depends not upon the will of individuals : it 
is a fundamental principle of society itself, which is in 
no small degree held together by its senseless preju- 
dices. How rarely do we find a man who can com- 
pletely divest himself of the consequence attaching to 



\ 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



5 



his rank, so as (if even the expression be not absurd) . 
to mingle with his inferiors on terms of equality. 

The prejudices of caste belong to organized society. 
We find them strongest among such nations as have 
long existed in peace and prosperity. Where commu- 
nities are in process of formation, or where they are 
rent by internal divisions, its force is least. Hence in 
revolutions and political disruptions, when all the 
elements of society are jumbled together, it disappears. 
In the infancy of a nation or colony its existence is 
barely perceptible. 

But to return to our subject — caste as it is found in 
India. The general account of this matter, whieh has 
been given with little variation, as applicable to nearly 
the whole of that country, by all who have noticed it 
from the days of Alexander down to the present time, 
represent it, rather as it is described in the sacred 
books of the Hindoos, than as it really existed among 
the people. This account has been gained, for the most 
part, from the laws of Menu and the Vedas, # which 
contemplate a state of things which never did, and, I 
think we may venture to say, never could exist, not 
merely in India, but among any people. It has been 
drawn more from the commentaries of intolerant 
pundits, who were self-conceited Bramins, puffed up 
with a most absurd and visionary idea of their own 
sanctity and importance, than from a consideration of 
the real circumstances and condition of the people. To 
these sources however, and to the information fur 

* In the Code of Menu continual reference is made to the Vedas. 



/ 



6 



THE THEORY AND 



nished to Sir William Jones, the translator of the 
" Laws of Menu," by the most celebrated of the 
Hindoo pundits or jurists, the framers of our Anglo- 
Indian Code have referred on this, as on many other 
important points.* 

The tone, too, which these sacred works would im- 
part to Hindoo feelings, though not existing in its 
fullest extent, does nevertheless produce its effect; just 
as in Europe the spirit of chivalry still lives in our 
sentiments and institutions, though chivalry itself, 
with its romance, its heroes, its tournaments, and its 
errantry, has long since vanished. Though the caste 
of the Vedas, with all its minute regulations and awful 
punishments, does not prevail, yet it is in a great mea- 
sure owing to the ordinances contained in those works, 
that caste has possessed its extraordinary power, and 
endured for so long a period. We will, then, in the 
first place describe it as it is exhibited in the Code of 
Menu, and the ancient Vedas to which reference is 
there so constantly made ; then we will notice its 
actual character in those parts of India, with which our 
conquests have made us best acquainted, f 

The whole of Hindoos are represented by Menu 
as divided into four principal classes — the sacerdotal^ 
the military ^ the industrious, and the servile. 

* E.g. In regard to the ownership of the soil, and the respective 
rights of the ryots and zemindars. 

+ The account is chiefly taken from Elphinstone's " History of 
India." He has taken it almost word for word from Sir W. Jones* 
translation of the Code of Menu. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



7 



The first of these — the Bramins — are said at the 
moment of creation to have issued from the mouth of 
Brahma. 

The second — the Cshatrya, or Chuttree — from his 
arm. 

The third — the Vaisya, or Bais — from his thigh ; 
and — 

The fourth — the Sudras, or Sooders — from his 
foot. 

According to which allegory, the Hindoos have 
assigned the priesthood and the work of legislation 
to the Bramins ; the Cshatrya fill the executive de- 
partments, and are also the military tribe ; the Vaisyas 
are to be employed in trade and commerce; whilst 
the Sudras are to devote themselves to servile em- 
ployments, and more especially to serve the Bramins 
with the most unwearied attention. 

• The first three classes, though by no means equal, 
are yet admitted into one pale. They join in certain 
rites, to which great importance is attached through- 
out the code. They are the community for whose 
government the laws are formed. Whilst the fourth 
class are mere outcasts, and no further considered 
than as they contribute to the advantage of the supe- 
rior castes. 

The Bramin is said to be the chief of all created 
beings. The world and all in it are his ; the rest of 
mortals enjoy life through him. By his imprecations 
he could destroy kings with all their troops, and 
elephants, and pomp. He could form other worlds, 



8 



THE THEORY AND 



and even give life to new gods and mortals. In 
accordance with this, their books are full of the 
accounts of heavenly beings vanquished in contests 
with the most insignificant of their class. Indra, 
when cursed by one of them, was hurled from his own 
heaven, and compelled to animate a cat.* Hence the 
Bramin is to be treated with the most profound re* 
spect, even by kings. His life and person are pro- 
tected by the severest laws in this world, and the most 
tremendous denunciations for the next. He is exempt 
from capital punishment ; his own offences are treated 
with singular lenity ; whilst all offences against him are 
punished with terrible severity. But with all these 
privileges, to the Bramin no land is assigned. He is 
to live on alms. He is especially forbidden to live by 
service. His life is to be one of laborious study, and 
of contemplative retirement. 

Though he is enjoined to refrain from all sensual 
enjoyments, and avoid all wealth that may impede his 
reading the Vedas, yet he is not in general by any 
means required to subject himself to fasts or needless 
severities. All that is necessary is that his life should 
be temperate, and his mind occupied in the prescribed 
observances. Although he is debarred from the pur- 
suit of ambition, many offices of the highest im- 
portance are to belong to him alone. Kings must have 
Bramins for their counsellors ; by Bramins they are to 
be instructed in policy, as well as in justice and in all 
learning. 

* Elphinstone, p. 97. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



9 



The code of Menu would appear at one time to be 
contemplating a former condition of the Bramins, 
which it still regards as the model for their conduct ; at 
another time, their condition, when encroached upon 
by the temptations of power. Hence, notwithstanding 
the frugality, sobriety, and disregard of riches, which is 
so rigorously enjoined, the property of Bramins is well 
protected by penal regulations. Punishments, as severe 
as they are extraordinary, await the wretch who steals 
their gold or injures their cattle. It is especially in- 
cumbent upon virtuous men and upon kings to support 
them with liberality. Every ceremony of religion 
involves feasts and presents to the Bramins. By gifts 
to them penances the most severe may be commuted. 
A Bramin finding a treasure keeps the whole of it; 
if it is found by another person the king takes it, but 
must give one-half to the Bramins. On failure of 
heirs, the property of others escheats to the king ; but 
that of Bramins is divided among their class. In 
general they are to be exempt from taxation ; and if, 
notwithstanding all these privileges, any of their mem- 
bers fall into poverty, their maintenance devolves upon 
the chief of the State. The first part of a Bramin 's 
life is to be devoted to an unremitting study of the 
Vedas, the performance of servile offices for his pre- 
ceptor, to providing the logs for sacrifice, and to 
begging from door to door. 

The second quarter he discharges the ordinary duties 
of a Bramin, lives with his wife, reads and teaches the 
Vedas, sacrifices and assists others to sacrifice, be- 



10 



THE THEORY AND 



stows alms and accepts gifts, shuns all frivolous amuse- 
ments, " clean and decent, his hair and beard clipped, 
his passions subdued, his mantle white, his body pure, 
with a staff and a copy of the Vedas in his hand, and 
bright golden rings in his ears," he leads a studious 
and decorous life. 

The third portion of his life he must spend in the 
woods, as an anchorite. Clad in bark, or in the skin 
of the black antelope, he lives without a fire or man- 
sion, wholly silent, and feeding on roots and fruits. 

In the last period of his earthly existence he is 
nearly as solitary and abstracted as the third ; but he 
is now released from external forms and mortifications. 
With equanimity and mental delight he spends the 
rest of his time in meditating on the Divinity, until at 
length he quits the body, " as a bird leaves the branch 
of a tree, at pleasure." 

The Cshatryas, or military class, bear something of 
a sacred character. Though far from being on an 
equality with the Bramins, they are still treated with 
honour. It is acknowledged that the sacerdotal order 
cannot prosper without the military, or the military 
without the sacerdotal ; the prosperity of both, there- 
fore, as well in this world as in the next, is made to 
depend on their cordial union. Though in an inferior 
degree to the Bramins, they still enjoy great inequality 
in criminal law, in comparison with the two lower 
castes. Their duty is to give alms, to sacrifice, to read 
the Veda, to shun the allurements of sensual gratifi- 
cation, and, above all, to defend the people. Hence 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



II 



they are to monopolize the military profession : kings 
and all officers of Government are to be taken from 
this tribe. Though Bramins are to draw up and 
interpret laws, they are carefully excluded from ad- 
ministering them; the executive government is vested 
in the Cshatryas alone. 

The Vaisyas, or mercantile class, are enjoined sa- 
crifice and reading of the Veda ; but their grand 
duties are to keep herds of cattle, to carry on trade, 
to lend on interest, and cultivate the soil. Hence they 
are to turn their attention to practical knowledge. 
They must understand the breeding of cattle, must be 
thoroughly acquainted with all commodities and soils, 
with the productions and wants of other countries, 
with various dialects and languages, and with 
whatever else has direct or indirect reference to pur- 
chase and sale. In one word, they are to be perfect 
men of business. 

The duty of the Sudras, or lowest class, is to serve 
the others, and more especially the Bramins. In fact, 
it is only permitted them, when in want of subsistence, 
and unable to procure service from that class, to serve 
a Cshatrya ; or even if that service cannot be obtained, 
to attend on an opulent Vaisya. They are doomed to 
suffer a degree of degradation greater than befalls any 
other class, not actually bondmen. They are unable 
to improve their condition, forbidden to accumulate 
property, " lest they should become proud, and give 
pain to Bramins," and incapable of by any means 
approaching the dignity of the superior classes. Nor 



12 



THE THEORY AND 



are their spiritual prospects less clouded. Though 
devoted to the service of Bramins, they may not open 
one page of the Veda. Though, by a rigid attendance 
to the duties of their situation, they may attain to, what 
is held forth as the climax of their ambition, the ap- 
probation of a Bramin, yet no material change can be 
made in their condition, even by transmigration. As 
a general rule, each of the classes in times of distress 
may subsist by the occupations allotted to those be- 
neath it, but must never encroach on the employments 
of those above it. The Sudra, however, having no 
class beneath him, may, if other employments fail, 
subsist by certain handicrafts, especially those of the 
carpenter, the mason, the painter, or the scribe. His 
conduct is to be marked with the greatest submissive- 
ness, and that under penalties as severe as they are 
ridiculous. If he use abusive language to one of a 
superior class, his tongue is to be slit. If he advise a 
Bramin about his religious duties, hot oil is to be 
dropped into his mouth and ears. If he even listen to 
reproaches against him, hot lead is poured into his 
ears. Whilst the first part of the compound name of 
a Bramin shall indicate holiness ; that of a Cshatrya, 
power ; that of a Yaisya, wealth ; that of the Sudra is 
to be expressive of contempt ; and the penance for 
killing him is to be the same as for killing a cat, a 
lizard, a frog, and various other animals. 

Again, a Bramin may not assist him in a sacrifice. 
It is a crime requiring expiation. He must not read 
the Veda, even to himself, in the presence of a Sudra. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



13 



To teach him the law, or instruct him in the mode of 
expiating sin, would sink the holiest Bramin into the 
hell, called Asamvrita. Nay, he may not give him even 
temporal advice, and is frequently forbidden to receive 
a gift from a Sudra. Though starving, he may not 
take dry grain from him, nor eat anything cooked by 
his hand. 

Yet, with all these disadvantages, the Sudras were 
not in general to be slaves, either belonging to the 
State or private individuals. They were allowed, 
under certain restrictions, to offer their services to 
whom they pleased; they could exercise trades on their 
own account, and could hold property. The persons 
of themselves and families were protected against even 
their own masters, and consequently, in some respects, 
their condition was superior to that of public slaves in 
the ancient Republics ; to that of the Helots of Lace- 
dsemon, the Penestes of Thessaly, or the Gymnesians 
of Argos; and far more tolerable than that of the serfs 
of Russia, the villeins of the middle ages, or the African 
slaves of our own times. 

The strong lines of demarcation between the dif- 
ferent castes were then, as now, introduced into many 
of the less important concerns of life ; and were 
guarded by the attention paid to marriage and purity 
of descent. Mixture of castes, though not absolutely 
forbidden, in most cases entailed disadvantages on the 
children ; and when a woman of the Braminical class 
married a Sudra, the offspring became a Chandala, the 
lowest of mortals. 



14 



THE THEORY AND 



Such is a brief outline of caste, as it may be 
gathered from the laws of Menu. That it never, or at 
any rate never for any length of time, existed under 
this form, in the absence of all historical evidence, we 
may, from the nature of the case, safely assert.* Pos- 
sibly, under the viziership of some bigoted Bramin, it 
may have been enforced with many of its absurd regu- 
lations and punishments, but the majority are so 
inconsistent with the welfare of society, and the popular 
feelings of even an Asiatic, that they never could be in 
force for any length of time.f 

They form, it is true, a part of what has been long 
reputed Hindoo law, which, in fact, is little more than 
a collection of dogmas, written at different times by 

* " Jye Sing, the same who built the observatories at Benares and 
Delhi, about the middle of the 16th century founded Jyepoor. Its 
uniformity is very striking. It is laid out according to the rules of the 
Shasters, different quarters being allotted to different castes. One 
being for the Thakoors or chieftains, another for the Bramins, a third 
for ordinary Bajpoots, a fourth for Kaits, a fifth for Bunyans or 
traders, a sixth for Gaowlas or cow-keepers, and a seventh for the pa- 
lace." — See " Heber's Journey," Vol. hi. p. 415. This apparently mili- 
tates against the remark in the text. "It "will be observed, however, that 
the arrangement is not that of Menu. It is rather one of tribes than 
of caste. 

+ In the " Toy Cart," the earliest of the Hindu dramas, extravagant 
veneration for Bramins nowhere appears. In fact, one of them is re- 
presented as condemned to death. — Elph. p. 27. 

" The four stages of a Bramin's life, and all that kind of thing, as 
described by Menu, and related in Europe, have no existence now." — 
Campbell's India, p. 42. 

" No quadruple division of the whole community exists, and perhaps 
never did exist." — Richard's India, Vol. i. p. 14. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



15 



Bramins, who each wrote what he pleased from the 
dictates of his own ignorant and intolerant spirit. 
They appear to have remained, in all ages and in all 
states, Hindoo as well as Mahometan, a mere dead 
letter. We would compare them to the illiberal and 
truculent bulls of Pope Gregory the Seventh and Pius 
the Fifth, which were never fully adopted even in 
Popish times and in Popish states ; and have been re- 
garded by Romanists themselves rather as curious proofs 
of the absurd lengths to which uncontrolled priestcraft 
can advance, than as laws which it ever was, or ever 
will be, not merely expedient, but even possible, to ad- 
minister. Such is the light in which we must regard 
caste, as it is pourtrayed in ancient Sanscrit works, 
and in the accounts which old Greek writers, and even 
many modern authors, have given of its regulations. 

A pretty general opinion now prevails, that the 
code of Menu, whose antiquity is indisputable, was 
not drawn up for the regulation of a particular state 
under the sanction of its Government.* Many regard 
it as the work of some learned man, designed to set 
forth his idea of a perfect commonwealth under Hin- 
doo institutions, just as Plato, in the Republic, gives 
us his idea of a model government under Greek insti- 
tutions. It has been supposed that Menu himself is a 
mere dramatic personage, brought forward to give life 
and interest to a didactic composition, just as in the 
Republic, Plato introduces Socrates, Glaucon, Ce- 

* Elphinstone's Hist. India, p. 11, &c. Date of Code of M. about 
900 B.C. 



16 



THE THEORY AND 



phalus, and others, conversing together, and by this 
means places his opinions in a more attractive light 
than was possible in a set treatise. The opening 
sentences of the work would favour this supposition. 
It commences, " Menu sat reclined with his attention 
fixed on one subject, when the divine sages approached 
him, and, after mutual salutations," &c. &c* 

Be this as it may, the caste which at present exists 
throughout the greater part of India is very different 
from that described in the laws of Menu : though to 
them it may probably owe a good deal of its stability, 
and all the prestige, which is attached to it among 
Europeans. The second and third orders do not now 
exist as separate classes. The very names are un- 
known, as conveying the original meaning. The 
people are all comprised in two classes, the Bramins 
and the Sudras ; while at the same time thousands are 
hardly acquainted with the latter name. Instead of 
the three twice-born classes, with their inferior divi- 
sions, and the Sudras, with some few exceptions, not 
only the Hindoos, but even the Mussulmans, Jews, 
Parsees, and Christians, are divided into an almost 
infinite number of castes.f These, far from being 
venerable for their antiquity or religious character, 
partake more of the nature of clubs or associations for 

* See Sir William Jones's Translation. Some have supposed that 
Menu was Minos, the author of legislation among the Greeks. Others 
that he is the personification of " mens" or intellect. 

+ Especially in Bengal. See Shore's Notes on Indian Affairs, Vol. i. 
p. 534, and Vol. ii. p. 473. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



17 



mutual support and familiar intercourse. In many 
cases the}' are dependent on the occupation of their 
members ; # in others they have their rise from what- 
ever trivial cause may happen to distinguish men from 
their fellows. The principal of those castes, which 
have been described by Mr. Colebrooke/f in the fifth 
volume of the " Asiatic Transactions," have, for the 
most part, had their origin either in being species of 
guilds, or in schism and separation from some other 
caste. Their specific denominations are often derived 
from the province in which the caste first had its rise ; 
sometimes from the name of the founder, and is not 
unfrequently due to mere accident. Thus, for in- 
stance, the Coolies, or bearers of burdens, are supposed 
to derive their name from that of the aboriginal race, 
the Calantise of ancient authors, who were conquered 
by the Hindoos, and remains of whom are still to be 
found in Guzerat and the peninsula of Cutch. The 
Kaits, or writer caste, are said to have been originally 
a tribe from Rajpootana, where the parent stock still 
exists. 

From these causes the castes are now so numerous 
that, in the Bengal Presidency alone, they would pro- 
bably amount to some hundreds ; almost every district 
containing some, which are not known in the adjacent 
province. Their rules are so various, and depend so 
much upon preconceived ideas, and the connection of 

* In some places the Jats call themselves of the caste of zemindars, 
«>r landholders. — See Campbell's India, p. 92. 

t His description is chiefly taken from the Jatimala. 

C 



18 



THE THEORY AND 



feeling in the mind, that even to Europeans, who have 
mixed longest with the people, caste is a mysterious 
subject. Among the lowest classes, and more espe- 
cially among the servants of the English in Calcutta, 
caste has degenerated into a fastidious tenacity of the 
rights and privileges of station, and an unmeaning 
observance of ridiculous regulations. The man who 
sweeps your room would resolutely refuse to take an 
empty cup from your hand.* He whose business it is 
to groom your steed would feel himself aggrieved if 
requested to mow a little grass for its sustenance. 

There are an infinite number of such petty absurdities, 
the neglect of which is sufficient to make a set exclude 
one of their members from their mess, his reinstatement 
being in general easily effected at the price of a 
dinner, or some frugal entertainment, given to the 
members of his class. 

Caste no longer ties a man down to follow his father's 
business, f Most men certainly do follow the occupa- 
tion to which they have been brought up. This, how- 
ever, is not peculiar to India. It is the case with every 
people. A man is educated in his father's shop or 
office, in all the minutiae of his business ; his mind 
becomes accustomed to it, his business friends are of 
avail there, and perhaps in no other line of commerce; 
and in India, as elsewhere, when the father dies his 

* See Shore's Notes, Vol. ii. p. 472. 

+ And probably never did. Eickards (Vol. i. p. 14) says " The 
ordinary occupations of life were at all times open to th© whole of 
them." 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



19 



son commonly succeeds to his business : but caste no 
more involves obligation to do so in India than it does 
in England. If we except the priesthood, which now 
chiefly belongs to the Bramins (and even in this point 
great latitude is allowed) caste* has not necessarily 
any effect on the line of life in which a man embarks. 

There is nothing to prevent a common shopkeeper, or 
bunnea, from becoming, if his affairs prosper, a wealthy 
merchant. There is nothing to prevent a merchant of 
high rank from sinking into the most menial occupa- 
tion.f Men of all castes have held commissions in our 
army. You may constantly see, as in England, one 
brother following the hereditary vocation, whilst 
another enters the army, hires himself as a domestic 
servant, or strikes out some other new course of life. 
How little occupation depends on caste may be seen 
from the following remark of a writer on India : — 
" Among the crew of our boat, consisting of ten men, 
were actually found the following variety of castes : 
— twoj Rajpoots, four Kuhars, one Kisan, one Goojur, 
one Bhat, and only one regular mullah, or boatman, 
by profession." 

It is doubtful, too, whether caste had ever practically 

* See Shore's Notes on India, Vol. ii. p. 473. The priesthood is 
not assigned to the Bramins by the Code of Menu, 
f Ibid, Vol. ii. p. 474. 

\ The names of the different castes, if translated, would convey to 
an Englishman just as little meaning as the names of English sects or 
societies translated into Hindostanee. It would be impossible, in the 
latter language, to find terms to express such words as Methodist, 
Baptist, Protestant, High Churchman, &c, &c. 



20 



THE THEORY AND 



any greater influence on the rise of men in the scale of 
society in India than in any other country — not even 
■when the Hindoos were governed by native princes, 
when the kingdoms of Malwa, of Canoage, and 
Guzerat were in their heyday, before even the Mus- 
sulmans set foot within the Peninsula. Since their 
appearance, i.e. within the period of authentic history, 
many have been the instances of men of the lowest 
classes attaining sovereign power. Most of the 
Mahratta Rajahs are Sudras; and yet, at a period 
when the English were only known as foreign mer- 
chants at Calicut, in Malabar, and some other seaports, 
they fought their way to their respective thrones 
against Mahometans, or whatever opposed them. 
Salivahana,* who flourished in the first century of the 
Christian era, and was their oldest, as well as most 
powerful monarch, is said to have been the son of a 
potter. Yet neither he, nor any other Peishwa, ever 
found the high-caste Bramin ill-disposed to be his 
minister, or join in council with a Sudra Rajah. In 
fact,f the Mahratta chiefs were usually so illiterate, 
that Bramins managed their affairs, and throughout 
the whole of their country they are still the great men 
of business, occupying the position of the Kaits and 
Parsees in other states. The founders of the families 
of Holcar and Scindia were both Sudras, whilst 
Trimbuk-jeeJ was a Bramin of the highest class. The 
great family of Rastia, in the Mahratta country, were 

* Elphinstone, p. 224. + Ibid. p. 545. 

\ Heber's Joumev, Tel. i. p. 405. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



21 



Bramins, then became extensive bankers, and lastly 
military leaders. Many other examples to the same 
effect might be quoted. So that it is obvious that it 
depends much more upon the wealth and power of the 
parties, than upon their caste, which shall serve the 
other. 

It is impossible to define all the particulars of which 
caste takes cognizance ; when its influence is so 
extensive as to enter, more or less, into the minutest 
actions and most intricate circumstances of life. All 
authors, from Eratosthenes downwards, have written 
concerning it, not as it really existed among the 
people, but, as they found it described in Shasters, in 
the Dherma Purana, and the commentaries of pundits. 
Nothing, however, gives an impression of the real 
state of things more false. The English in point of 
caste are on an equality with the lowest Sudras, and 
yet they never find a difficulty in hiring men of high 
caste to perform menial services. 

In the South of India* the Bramins apply them- 
selves to cookery, in which art they attain great 
proficiency. Individuals of any caste may, without 
pollution, eat what has been prepared at their hands. 
On this account, as well as for the eclat of entertaining 
a domestic of such reputed rank, they are in great 
request with the opulent Sudras: this, too, notwith- 
standing the numerous incongruities which arise 
therefrom. The master, being of an inferior class, 
must not touch the vessels which the domestic uses for 

* See Dubois' India, p. 17C. 



22 



THE THEORY AND 



his own food. Nor, on the other hand, will the pre- 
judices of the domestic suffer him to withdraw from 
the table the plates which be had served up. What 
he has prepared is pure for his master; but what 
his master has touched is polluted to him. In short, 
although there are capacities as, for instance, those of 
mater or kitmutgar* in which no Bramin, and, pro- 
bably, no Hindoo of high caste would serve, it is far 
from unusual for those who have acquired wealth to 
entertain men of superior caste as their servants. 

In what then does Hindoo caste consist? We 
would liken it to what, as similar in its feelings and 
effects, has also been denominated caste among Euro- 
peans. To a certain extent at least they both spring 
from the same origin, just as they both for the most 
part manifest themselves in the same things — in eating 
and in forming matrimonial alliances between families. 
In Europe, however, caste is simply a social distinction; 
often not even that. It is received as a necessary evil, 
and condemned, if not in itself, at any rate in its tenden- 
cies, by our moralists, and by the opinion and example 
of those who are regarded with universal respect. In 
India, on the other hand, it is professedly a religious 
institution, upheld by sacred books, and protected by 
every argument which can be drawn from antiquity 
and prevalence. In this consists the great difference. 
This it is which makes it so important, which renders 
it so strongly prevalent, not as in England among 
the higher classes, but in every corner of Indostan, 

* I.e. sweeper or footman. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



23 



and which has preserved some of its more arbitrary- 
regulations unimpaired for many centuries. 

In England a species of caste enters into all the 
most ordinary relations of life. It forms distinctions 
in society, and gives rise to habits and customs which 
a stranger to our manners and sentiments would be 
years in perceiving, and the reasons of which it would 
be impossible to explain to one lacking the train 
of thought necessary for their appreciation. Such 
in a much greater degree, owing to the greater im- 
portance of caste, as a division of society, enforced not 
merely by popular opinion, but by civil laws and 
religious authority, are the sentiments of Englishmen 
with reference to Hindoo caste. In both cases its 
practical operation is most extensive and important, 
and yet in its details, and in its general rules, so minute, 
so intricate, and in many cases so contradictory, so 
anomalous and so ridiculous, as to defy every attempt 
at generalization. 

In some instances it is dependent on moral charac- 
ter, in others on the observance of regulations 
apparently the most unmeaning. Respectability weighs 
nothing when put in comparison with it. He would 
forfeit it who should be found eating with one of 
another caste, however excellent or virtuous such a 
one might be. To the uninitiated its rules are in- 
tricate and absurd. Its peculiarities are incomprehen- 
sible to those unacquainted with the sequence of ideas 
from which they arise. In the same way there exist 
among ourselves many conventionalities, independent 



24 



THE THEORY AND 



of rank, and unrecognized by law, which keep dif- 
ferent classes asunder, and whose rules are commonly 
mistaken by foreigners. 

Suppose, by way of illustration, that a gentleman 
of consequence engaged in making a purchase, feels 
thirsty. He asks the shop-boy for a glass of ale or 
water. If he drink it in the shop all is well ; but 
if he go into the back room, and there drink his 
beverage, seating himself on one chair whilst the boy 
seated himself on another, he would be considered to 
have committed an impropriety. We understand the 
difference; but it would probably be impossible for 
a native of India to do so. He does not possess the 
turn of thought necessary for its comprehension. He 
would probably say, if the gentleman may quench 
his thirst in a tradesman's house, what possible dif- 
ference can it make whether seated or standing, 
whether in one room or the other ? This is precisely 
the same with us, in our attempts to understand 
many of the peculiarities of Hindoo customs. We 
have not the train of thought and association of ideas 
requisite; and we in equal astonishment ask, "If you 
eat bread prepared by that man what possible dif- 
ference can it make to eat boiled rice which he has 
cooked?" or, "You make no objection to such a 
person handling prepared pastry, how can his touch 
render impure another sort of food ? " 

High feelings of ancestral pride will even yet make 
the Highlander endure the greatest hardships in pre- 
ference to labours which he falsely deems degrading. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



25 



With disdain which would be ridiculous, were it not 
pitiable, the poorest peasant, who with difficulty fur- 
nishes himself with necessary sustenance, and around 
whose home poverty hovers in every form, will yet 
spurn with contempt the labours of the loom or the 
craft of the artizan. How unreasonable this would 
appear to a Hindoo ! To us, familiar with many pre- 
vious considerations, such conduct, though strange, is 
still capable of explanation. 

Such is the case with caste in India. To a stranger 
it is one mass of inconsistencies, to a native the most 
important feature of his society. The foundation of 
the whole matter rests on self-confidence, and a desire 
of exalting ourselves in society. This feeling is com- 
mon to all mankind. Caste, as its offspring, affects 
all men more or less ; but in India it has been carried 
to its furthest extent, and endued with all the 
respectability which religion and antiquity could 
confer. 

Our task, then, will be to trace the effects of this 
tendency in human nature in that country where it 
has been especially developed, and upon our Anglo- 
Indian institutions. This, in fact, is the practical 
question, and not the probable effects of a state of 
things which are found discussed in the commentaries 
of an ancient philosopher and would-be politician, 
and which if they ever existed, have been so long ago 
exploded, that little or no trace of them can be dis- 
cerned in any account which we possess of the ancient 
rulers of the country, and its condition under their 



26 



THE THEORY AND 



sway, and have most certainly never prevailed during 
the British occupancy of Indostan. 

Our attention, too, must be confined to investi- 
gating the general effects of a general principle, and 
not in tracing the influence of its minute details ; of 
the numberless ceremonies, to which in different parts 
of the peninsula, it has given rise. Such an attempt 
would be impossible. 

We have before observed, that whatever was the 
case in remote ages, it is certain that within the period 
of exact history custom has, in respect to caste, 
deviated widely from the written laws of Menu. The 
simple regulations of that code, enjoined under such 
terrible penalties, are in actual practice, replaced by a 
mass of minute superstitious observances. These are 
so numerous and intricate, that a description of them 
would itself form the subject of a large volume. To 
give the reader some idea of their character we will, at 
random, select a few of the most prominent. It must 
be premised, however, that there are rules peculiar to 
each part of a caste, in addition to those of the caste 
itself. That others again are local, or peculiar to 
different families. That* they are different, and often 
at variance with one another in different parts of the 
peninsula, and can be reduced to no general standard 
of reason or regularity. 

The majority of the people of Bengal and Orissa 
will not eat meat, though all classes join in eating fish; 
whilst on the other hand, at Bickanee, fish is held in 

* Abbe Dubois India, Pref., p. 16. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



27 



the utmost abhorrence. Nearly all Hindoos so 
rigorously refrain from animal food, and look upon 
swine with such especial disgust that, in the great 
drought of 1770, when it has been calculated that 
more than one-fourth of the teeming population of 
Bengal perished of famine, thousands died rather than 
violate their religious scruples ; yet all these, with 
perhaps the exception of the very highest castes, will 
eat the flesh of the deer and wild boars, if not killed 
by their own hands.* In Kumaon all will eat the 
short-tailed sheep of the hills, but none will touch one 
with a long tail. 

To the Braminsf all animal food, save that of fishes 
and kids, is forbidden ; yet in some districts they will 
readily partake of the flesh of any animal whatever, if 
only, as in the case of other Hindoos, it be not killed 
by their own hand. The Rajpoots eat fish, mutton, 
and venison ; fowls, beef, and pork are held in abomi- 
nation. Many castes follow the same rules. With 
some, however, pork is the favourite diet, beef only is 
prohibited. Those who shrink from the pollution of 
eating the flesh of the domestic poultry will eagerly 
devour that of the jungle-fowl which differs from the 
game-cock only in size. All Hindoos consider them- 
selves defiled by contact with feathers : among the 
tribes at the feet of the Himalays, who are in other 
respects strict Hindoos, this prejudice does not exist. 
An earthen pot is polluted beyond redemption by 

• Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 489. 

+ See Shore's India, Vol. i. p. 533, on this subject. 



28 



THE THEORY AND 



being touched by one of an inferior caste; a metal one 
suffers no such deterioration. # Coolies will carry any 
load, however offensive, upon their heads ; bid them 
carry a man for a few paces, and though it be a matter 
of life and death, they will answer you, that it is the 
business of another caste. The writer caste, or tribe 
of Kaits, have a prejudice against keeping a shop, and 
they would submit to the lowest description of personal 
service, in preference to joining as a partner in the 
wealthiest house in Calcutta. Tbe Rohillas will sub- 
mit to be flogged within an inch of their lives with a 
leathern martingale, but to be struck with a whip or 
cane would be an indelible disgrace, and very likely to 
be resented with a bullet or a stab. Bramins would 
be polluted by drinking from the same cup as a 
Sudra ; if, however, the beverage be a species of whey 
there is no pollution. Spirituous liquors are in 
general only allowed to the Pariahs. In some parts 
of Southern India the Bramins partake of themf with- 
out scruple. Among the Nairs of Malabar the women 
enjoy a plurality of husbands. Among the Totiyars, 
on the same coast, those within the degrees of consan- 
guinity possess their wives in common. In Mysore 
there is a caste in which the mother amputates the two 
middle fingers up to the second joint at the marriage of 
her eldest daughter. Many castes are only to be 
known from one another by the cut and colour of their 
clothes, the shape and arrangement of their trinkets, 

* See Heber's Journey, Vol. ii., p. 24. 
+ See Abbe Dubois on India, cbap. i. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



29 



or some other equally frivolous and unimportant dis- 
tinction. 

Such are some of the regulations and prejudices 
connected with Hindoo caste. When we have added 
that to all these a certain amount of religious respect 
is supposed to have been originally due, the reader will 
have some idea of its anomalous and heterogeneous 
character. 

Many other examples of its minor details we might 
produce ; but what effect can these have had on our 
institutions ? Surely, none ; though the spirit which 
produced by its abuse these may also have affected 
them. It is the effects of this abstract spirit which we 
must notice, omitting all details, and confining our- 
selves to the broad features of the case. 

We shall, then, examine its effects as they have 
been seen. 

First. On the Political, Military, and Civil Institu- 
tions of our Indian Empire. 

Secondly. On its Social and Domestic Institutions. 

Thirdly. On the Moral and Religious Character of 
the People. 

Fourthly. We shall notice how it affects their Con- 
version to Christianity. 

Lastly. We shall consider — 

Its probable effects on the future destinies of that 
Empire. 



30 



THE THEORY AND 



CHAPTER II. 

EFFECTS OF CASTE ON THE POLITICAL, MILITARY 
AND CIVIL INSTITUTIONS OF OUR INDIAN EMPIRE. 



In one point of view there exists a remarkable dif- 
ference between the history of Europeans and Asiatics. 
In that of Western nations it is the exploits of the 
people, that are, for the most part, described. We 
are made acquainted with their feelings aud senti- 
ments, and the impulse which these gave to their internal 
as well as external policy. Individually, as a portion 
of the people, we read our own history and recognize 
our own feelings in those which animated them. We 
draw deductions and aeq-uire instruction from their 
failures or success. Princes derive all the importance, 
which attaches to their reign, from the habits and 
power of their subjects. If otherwise so remarkable 
that history for a time centres in their person, it is 
either because opposed to their people, or with dicta- 
torial power heading their armies in or against foreign 
invasion. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 31 

With the East this is not the case. There history 
is a narrative of the deeds of princes, not of the 
sentiments of nations. We read not so much of 
the constitutional struggles of myriads, as of the 
diplomacy, the treachery, the crimes, and the am- 
bition of a few ; and history becomes most interesting 
when it enters most minutely into the personal habits 
and feelings of an illustrious monarch. This is espe- 
cially the case with India. The Ramayana, the Maha- 
barat, and the Puranas, make us to a considerable 
extent acquainted with its history, fabulous or other- 
wise, from the earliest periods ; whilst Ferishta and 
Persian writers in abundance give us the events of 
more modern times. But upon what do they chiefly 
dwell? The people are lost sight of, the deeds of 
princes are alone conspicuous. The whole is one 
mass of private feuds, of jealousy, of tyranny, of sud- 
den rebellion, and of remorseless punishment ; of the 
rise of princes and of the fall of dynasties. Occa- 
sionally some Chandragupta, or Mahmoud, or Akbar, 
command our respect for their conquests or legisla- 
tion. Some Zenghis, or Tamerlane, or Nadir, like a 
thunderbolt, dart through prosperous kingdoms, and 
leave desolation behind them. Some Baber or Hu- 
mayun, with their simple memoirs and romantic 
adventures, interest the milder feelings of the mind. 
Yet, throughout the whole of their history, we look 
in vain for a Tacitus to tell us, " Qualis status urbis, 
quae mens exercituum, quis habitus provinciarum, 
quid in toto imperio validum, quid aegrum fuerit, ut 



1 



32 THE THEORY AND 

non modo casus eventusque rerum, qui plerumque 
fortuiti sunt, sed ratio enim causaeque noscantur." * 

We look in vain for a description of the effects of minor 
circumstances upon the feelings, the actions and institu- 
tions of the early invaders of Indostan. We know that 
then, as now, the same intricate rules of caste pre- 
vailed, yet we find little or no notice of its influence 
on the character of their policy ; though it must, in 
one form or other, have come in contact with every 
act of legislation. Strange as it may seem, its in- 
fluence was so subtle and inscrutable, that, either from 
ignorance of its character, or from despair of accu- 
rately defining it, they have altogether neglected to 
notice even its existence. 

It may happen occasionally to have forced itself on 
their attention, when the overweening influence of 
some particular class may have produced a sudden 
political movement. As, for instance, when Khusru, 
the vizier of Mobarik Khilji,f entirely surrounded 
himself with those of his own caste, by their means 
overthrew the power of his master, and exterminated 
the house of Khilji. These, however, are solitary 
events, singular in their causes and effects. They 
have little or no connection with that silent, never- 
failing influence which caste must have always ex- 
erted on the character of the people and the insti- 
tutions of their conquerors. Certain it is that its 
effects were rarely direct, and are, if anywhere, to be 



* Hist. i. 4. 



+ See Elphinstone's India, p. 348. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



33 



found (as Burke would say) not in the " swaggering 
major, but in the little minor of circumstances." 

As with preceding conquerors of Indostan, so with 
the English ; caste is not to be found directing our 
diplomacy, curbing our designs, or impeding with its 
niceties our intercourse with the princes of India. 
Whoever looks for it here may look in vain. Nothing 
is more certain than that caste has never sensibly 
affected our intercourse with Hindoo governments, and 
rarely even the relations of Hindoo states with each 
each other. Yet in minor points its influence can be 
detected. 

The East India Company, for a long time, appeared 
in the East as merchants, whose continuance at two or 
three unimportant seaports, depended upon their con- 
ciliating the favour of a few of the more powerful 
native princes ; whilst their trade was, in a great mea- 
sure, founded upon their popularity with the people 
themselves. After the death of Aurangzib, and the 
disorders which followed, their influence became more 
extensive, and was finally confirmed by Clive, at the 
decisive battle of Plassy ; when the whole of Bengal 
and even the great Mogul himself, were prostrate at 
their feet. Then could they well afford to neglect 
any longer paying court to barbarous sovereigns ; but 
though in this point independent, their empire was 
found to be increased in a greater proportion than 
their powers of retaining it. A few thousand Euro- 
peans at Calcutta and Madras, had now to preserve 
their dominion over a great part of Malabar, the 

D 



34 



THE THEORY AND 



Deccan, and the whole plain of the Ganges — over 
people differing from them in language, in customs, in 
religion, and in colour. They soon observed that on 
their popularity and compliance with the wishes of 
their subjects, a stable empire was alone to be founded. 
Nor did it long escape their notice, that caste in one 
form or other existed from Cape Comorin to the feet of 
the Himalays ; from the mouths of the Ganges to those 
of the Indus ; throughout the length and breadth of 
Indostan ; that its minute regulations were regarded 
with almost religious respect ; that its spirit penetrated 
every native institution, and gave a colour to the 
simplest actions of life. It was soon obvious that it was 
an innocent point, on which it would be of advantage 
to gratify, or rather on which it might be dangerous 
to offend, native prejudices. To this end Sir William 
Jones, after an astonishing amount of persuasion, in- 
duced some of the most illustrious pundits of the day, 
to furnish him, notwithstanding their religious scruples 
on the point, with a translation of the Code of Menu, 
which was supposed, and which they averred, con- 
tained the legitimate regulations of Hindoo caste. 
What a deceptive picture of this institution is there 
given, we have before noticed. Such as it was, how- 
ever, it was adopted, and in many particulars credited, 
by the government and literati* of the day ; and many 
of the orders of the Board of Directors in England, 
and Regulations of the Council in India, are careful 
that its spirit should not be wantonly offended. 

* E. g., Schlegel and Continental writers. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



35 



The pretensions of Bramins, and the high respect 
which had been awarded to them from antiquity, were 
often regarded in points, in which they ill accorded 
with the preconceived ideas of Europeans, and in some 
cases were not neglected even in the courts of justice. 

The Cshatryas, as a class, were extinct in the 
greater part of India, but the Rajpoots of Raj as than, 
claimed descent from them, and readily found occupa- 
tion as sepoys, in our armies ; whilst the lowest castes, 
such as Coolies, Maters, Choomars, Mullahs, &c, were 
for a long time studiously excluded. 

Bramins and men of high caste, as Vakeels, or* 
native lawyers, and MoonsifFs or inferior judges, were 
occupied in the administration of justice ; whilst little 
encouragement was given to the Sudra and the Ryot, 
to leave the cultivation of the soil, that occupation to 
which the Code of Menu had devoted him. 

Nay, to such lengths was this policy of respecting 
the prejudices of the natives in regard to caste carried, 
that the discouragements to conversion to Christianity 
were numerous. By Government Regulations of 1814, 
native Christians were debarred from filling any public 
office of respectability . # There is on record one 
instance at least, in which a sepoy was actually dis- 
missed from the army, in consequence of embracing 
Christianity. He was a naickf or corporal, a man of 
high caste, who under the influence of Mr. Fisher, the 
clergyman at Meerut, renounced Hinduism. Bishop 

* Kegs., 23 and 27. 

+ Heber's Journey, Vol. ii. p. 280. Shore's India, Vol, ii. p. 460. 



36 



THE THEORY AND 



Heber, who saw him in 1825, describes him as " a tall, 
plain-looking man, with every appearance of a re- 
spectable and well-behaved soldier." His conversion 
was supposed to be exciting considerable ferment in 
his corps. On the report of the commanding officer, 
and after a careless investigation, Government, carry- 
ing out its cautious policy of humouring native pre- 
judices, to an almost unjustifiable extent, absurdly, not 
to say wickedly, disgraced him, by removing him from 
his regiment, although they still allowed him his pay. 
So careful are they still not to offend native prejudices 
on the subject of caste, that the very convicts* in our 
gaols are allowed to preserve its distinction. They 
are not required to labour in what they deem an im- 
proper vocation, and are allowed time and space, each 
to cook his own meals. 

In return for this toleration, there are some points 
on which caste has materially upheld the pretensions 
of the Company. It has no idea of popular government. 
Its political effects may appear pleasing in the case of 
the village constituencies (which we shall hereafter 
mention), and may go far to secure a certain amount of 
personal liberty, yet have they no tendency to produce 
for the people at large, that popular form of govern- 
ment, on which the Englishman particularly prides 
himself, and which, under one form or other, has been 

* This is necessary : many convicts would He down and die, sooner 
than break the laws of their caste. It is only two months since a riut 
occurred at Benares, in consequence of some convicts being set to 
labour at occupations inconsistent with tbeir caste. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



37 



the object of every revolution, among the families of 
the European or Japhetic race. The Code of Menu 
contemplates the whole of society, as subject to one 
head, an absolute monarch, in whom the whole go- 
vernment of the state is vested. He is, it is true, to 
pay regard to the laws promulgated in the name of 
the Divinity, he is to be influenced by the advice of 
Bramins, but he is subject to no legal control by 
human authority. 

The opening of the chapter on government* em- 
ploys the boldest political figures to display the irre- 
sistible power, the glory, and almost the divinity of a 
king. This doctrine, so characteristic of all Semitic 
nations, the institution of caste in nowise invalidates, 
but even upholds and confirms. 

It obstructs the free exercise of those benevolent feelings 
which bind man to man.f The social circle is com- 
posed of persons of the same caste, to the careful 
exclusion of others. No community of feeling exists 
among different classes of the same people ; it arms 
one class of men against another ; gives rise to the 
greatest degree of pride and apathy, makes every pre- 
judice inveterate and incapable of eradication. With 
them as with the half civilized Romans of old, hospes 
and hostis, stranger and foe,J are synonymous. Hence 
there can be no political amalgamation ; everything 

* Chap. VII., Sir William Jones' translation. Elphinstone, p. 19. 

t See Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 478. Ward's Hindoos, VoL i. p. 145, 
<on this subject. 

♦ See Cic, Off., Lib. L, Cap. 12. 



38 



THE THEORY AND 



which is proposed by one party, is viewed with sus- 
picion by others ; like the oligarchs and democrats of 
Grecian cities they stand apart with mutual distrust, 
everywhere " to avriTayO* 11 o\Xkr\\ois rfi yv&ixr\ airLo-rm 
€ttl ttoXv (Hr/fey/ce^,"* has been true of Hindoos, as it 
was of Greeks. This feeling, though it may long have 
contributed to the stability of our rule, very materially 
retards the progress of those enlightened principles of 
our government, by which it is now being attempted 
to elevate the character of the people, and render them 
adapted for freer institutions than they at present pos- 
sess, and perhaps in time for a representative form of 
government. 

From caste, again, has arisen that want of patriotism 
which every writer on India, has noticed as a markedf 
characteristic of the people. Although they are 
socially one, they have no political unity, no na- 
tionality, no public spirit. " Not only," says a recent 
writer! on India, " have the Mahometans and 
Hindoos no political feelings in common, but no two 
tribes, classes, or castes of Hindoos, pull together 
in politics.'* Much of these sentiments may be, 
doubtless, attributed to their having lived so long 
under foreign and despotic governments, but much 
also is to be ascribed to the benevolent feelings of the 
mind having, from infancy, been contracted and 
cramped by the influence of caste. 

* Thucyd., Lib. iii., 83. 

+ Heber's Journey, Vol. iii. p. 274. 

I Campbell's India and its Government, p. 62. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



39 



To the same cause, too, is to be ascribed that extreme 
selfishness, which induces them to look without sym- 
pathy upon the misfortunes of their neighbours. They 
have large family circles, within which many social 
virtues exist. Persons who live beyond the range of 
these are utter aliens. Hence, though no provision on 
the subject has ever been made by Government, 
paupers are carefully supported.* It is incumbent on 
each family circle to afford subsistence to its own poor, 
and public relief is never either expected or required. 
On the other hand, nowhere are the sufferings of 
strangers treated with more indifference.f The tra- 
veller may fall sick by the way, but not a soul will 
render assistance. If his caste be unknown all will 
avoid him for fear of pollution. The most horrible 
crimes, and the most outrageous cruelties, may be, 
and sometimes are, openly committed, without the 
least dread of interference. No native, whom it did 
not personally concern, would ever, for one moment, 
harbour the idea of laying an information before a 
magistrate. In cases of daring thefts,J where gangs 
of decoits have long been the terror of a neighbourhood, 
there is very rarely any common effort made for their 
detection, which is left entirely to those whom it prin- 
cipally concerns. To such a length has this apathy of 
the natives gone, that decoitee has sometimes been 

* Campbell's India and its Government, p. 62. 

+ Heber gives many exs. See Journey, Vol. i. p. 352 ; ii. p. 352 ; 
and iii. pp. 261, 264, 355, &c. 
\ Campbell's India, p. 108. 



40 



THE THEORY AND 



carried on for years, before the authorities became 
aware of its existence ; and even then its detection has 
long defied the vigilance of our police. So far is this 
indifference to the sufferings of others, and neglect of 
all the ties of race and country carried, that a writer* 
on India remarks, " If it were the purpose of Govern- 
ment to ravage with fire and sword any particular 
district, it might be done just as effectually with 
soldiers raised in that province, as with regiments 
composed of foreigners. Each man would be anxious 
to save his own particular village, but he would most 
likely have no sympathy with its neighbour." 

Caste prevents all zeal in pursuing public benefits. The 
ambition and enterprise of individuals is absorbed in 
the general feelings of their caste, which is a torpid 
mass, little influenced by the genial spirit of improve- 
ment, or the wish of ameliorating its condition. It 
presents no obstacle to the pretensions or tyranny of a 
ruler, but after a fashion, by its apathy and stationary 
nature, confirms his authority. That all men naturally 
are equal is a doctrine abhorrent to the feelings of a 
Hindoo ; hence he has no idea of universal suffrage, of 
social fusion, or of any of those political tenets, whose 
wild extravagances have so often disturbed the peace 
of western nations, of late have shaken almost every 
throne of Christendom to its foundations ; and which, 
if they existed in the East, no force or popularity of 
our Indian government would avail to counteract. 
His political creed is pre-eminently that verse of 

* Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 417. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



41 



Homer, which, Theophrastus # says, was the only one 
the oligarch of his day knew, ie ovk dyaBov irokvKoipavCrj 
ets KoCpavos eorw." " The people of India," to quote 
the words of Sir John Malcolm,f " have little or no idea 
of divided power, they imagine all authority to be 
vested in one man." 

But nowhere are the effects of caste more strongly 
marked, and nowhere have its harshest features yielded 
more manifestly to the power of civilization, than in 
our Indian army. According to the antecedent history 
of mankind, it would have been deemed an extravagant 
conceit in any one to have imagined that Christians 
from islands in the Atlantic, in search of traffic in 
Indostan, should train the natives to be soldiers, 
should so moderate and control their numerous pre- 
judices, that they should find in them that devotion, 
ardour, and perseverance, which is usually rewarded 
with victory. That they should, unhesitatingly, lead 
them against even their own countrymen; and, though 
unacquainted with the British language beyond the 
range of terms used at drill and parade, these soldiers 
should be made fully to understand, and skilfully 
perform the most intricate evolutions of the British 
line, in which they take their place, and on which they 
have never yet brought disgrace. 

We may observe, however, that it has been no new 
thing for a foreign power to rule India by means of 
an army, levied from the people themselves, and made 
as zealous for the interests of the conquerors as ever 
* Character of the Oligarch. + Political History of India. 



42 



THE THEORY AND 



they were for their own sovereigns and their own 
nation. Innumerable instances might be adduced of 
Hindoo soldiers fighting against a prince of their own 
caste, under the banners of a Mussulman leader, and 
of Mussulman troops, on the contrary, attacking one 
of the faithful in the ranks of Hindoos. 

The secret ca use of this disregard of country and want 
of patriotic feelings, to which, more than perhaps to any 
other cause, we owe the acquisition and retention of 
our Indian empire, is to be found in the institution of 
caste. 

When the policy of pleasing the natives was espe- 
cially strong, under the administration of Lord Corn- 
wallis, men of the lowest caste were, as we have 
remarked above, excluded from our army ; yet even 
among the higer classes there was the same exclusive- 
ness as would have existed between men of the highest 
and lowest castes. It was unaccompanied, however, 
by that discontent which would have arisen, if the 
latter had been admitted. Even these regulations do 
not at present prevail. There is now no legal bar to 
the admission of even a Pariah into our Indian regi- 
ments, though such would be rejected, as any pro- 
motion which might happen to be granted them would 
be viewed with dissatisfaction by those of superior 
caste, who, in general, form the majority of a regi- 
ment.* 

* The old ideas in regard to caste are said to be still prevalent at 
head-quarters in the Bengal Presidency. Men are incessantly paid up, 
and discharged when there are doubts about the purity of then: caste. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



43 



Hence we may now find among our troops Hindoos 
of every tribe, caste, province, and dialect ; # so that 
no less than thirty nations are said to supply recruits 
to our native force of sepoys. We find there men of 
every language in India, Indostanee, Dukhnee, 
Telinga, Tamil, and Mahratta, both worshippers of 
Shiva, and worshippers of Vishnoo ; we may find mul- 
titudes of Mahometans, as well of the Soonee as of the 
Shiah sects, together with Protestants and Romanists, 
half castes and Topasses, and even Jews and Ghebirs, 
a commixture, a " colluvies gentium" unparalleled in 
military history. 

What is the result ? There is but one cord which 
binds men of such a diversity of nations, creeds, and 
languages together. This is their allegiance to the 
same master, and their expectation of pay or promo- 
tion entirely dependent on their conduct satisfying the 
views of their employers. This links them firmly 
together, just as in former times it did the disorderly 
hosts of the Mogul, and as the hope of plunder united 
the predatory bands of the Mahrattas, or the flying 
cavalry of the Pindarrees. As long as they are well 
paid they are thorough Dalgetties — they care little for 
whom they fight. Like the mercenary troops of the 

This line of policy is more Hindoo than that of the Hindoos them- 
selves, and probably very imprudent, as the high caste men do not 
always make the best regular soldiers. They are generally at the 
bottom of all insubordination. See Campbell's India, p. 518. 

* Historical Sketch of the Princes of India, by an officer in the ser- 
vice of the H. E. I. C, p. 48. 



44 



THE THEORY AND 



middle ages, they will be true and faithful to the power 
that supports them, but, unlike such condottieri, they 
can never render themselves formidable by mutiny or 
insubordination ; any such tendency the existence of 
caste effectually counteracts. On parade, or on actual 
service, discipline, with its iron hand, has repressed 
many of their antipathies, and they live on terms of 
mutual forbearance. Their diversity of caste and 
manners in no way appears to interrupt the chain of 
military subordination. Yet, no sooner is parade 
broken up, than they divide into sectional coteries, the 
gradation of caste, or the difference of religion appears. 
The rank of military life gives way to social distinc- 
tions ; the etiquette of soldiers to that of citizens. The 
Sudra sergeant is restored to his social rank, and 
makes his salaam to the Bramin or Rajpoot private. 
The Mussulman avoids the Christian, the Shiah the 
Soonee, the Hindoo all. Split into their divisions of 
caste, they may be seen in small parties, or even alone, 
cooking and eating their simple meal. The pleasures 
and conviviality of the table are, for the most part, 
unknown among them;* and thus one great means of 
social fusion, and of learning the undisguised feelings 
of their comrades, is taken away. 

The native commissioned officers, again, are rarely 
all of the same caste. They cannot then join in one 
mess; but each associates and eats with those of his 
own caste, be they privates or otherwise : a custom 

* Large suppers, however, are sometimes given by the natives, 
©specially at Calcutta. 



I 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 45 

which, as tending sensibly to curtail their authority on 
parade, has been condemned by military men, but 
which has the advantage of making them acquainted 
with the prevailing sentiments of their corps. So that, 
standing, as they do, between the unapproachable 
English officer and his submissive soldiers, they hear 
of inconveniences before they become grievances, and 
remedies can be applied which nip sedition in the bud. 
So that all these minute divisions and sub-divisions, 
produced by caste, materially diminish the chance of 
any revolutionary insubordination. An impassable 
barrier of mutual distrust and jealousy hinders all 
amalgamation of opinion, and obstructs all unity of 
action even on those national subjects, which sepa- 
rately and independently interest the whole body. 
Mutinies have, on several occasions, arisen among our 
sepoys, and yet have, probably, never had their origin 
in caste. Of these, the most determined, was that 
which occurred at Vellore in 1806. Its causes were 
clearly traced to a thoughtless violation of native 
prejudices.* Lord William Bentinck, in that eagerness 
for change and reform, for which he was in India so 
notorious, issued orders that the sepoys should clip 
their mustachios, should appear on parade with their 
chin shaved, should not wear the distinguishing marks 
of caste upon the forehead, or their huge ear-rings 
when in uniform. To this was added changes in their 
dress. A turban was introduced of a new cut, which 

* See MacFarlane's India, Vol. ii. p. 157, for a full account of the 
massacre of Vellore. 



46 



THE THEORY AND 



the natives fancied bore some resemblance to the 
European hat, against which they possess a deeply- 
grounded prejudice. To make it even more offensive, 
it was surmounted with a leathern cockade, which was 
supposed to be formed of the skin of the hog, an 
animal held to be impure both by the Mussulmans and 
Hindoos. These feelings were shared, more or less, 
by the whole of our native force. That open mutiny 
broke out at Vellore, was owing to the fact of the 
family of Tippoo being there resident, and having 
collected around them, by their charities and pa- 
tronage, large numbers of the old retainers of their 
house. These were men who had been brought up in 
the disorderly scenes which marked the reigns of 
Hyder and Tippoo, and were involved in the ruin 
which befel that dynasty. They found no congenial 
employment under the peaceful sway of the Company, 
and were ready to join in any, the wildest, project that 
held forth a hope of plunder, or a chance of bettering 
their desperate fortunes. It was to the presence of 
these men that the massacre at Vellore was due. 

The open disaffection of the sepoys there did not 
even reach the native cavalry stationed at Arcot, which 
was scarcely sixteen miles distant. Under Colonel 
Gillespie they joined in attacking the rebels at 
Vellore, and stained their sabres as deeply in the 
blood of their misguided countrymen as did our own 
Dragoons."* 

Other mutinies of our native troops, as for instance 

* See Quarterly Review, No. XXXVI. 



PRACTICE OP CASTE. 



47 



that of the celebrated 15th Battalion,* which behaved 
with remarkable gallantry against the French at 
Masulipatam, the mutiny which occurred at Barrack- 
poor in 1782, all arose either from the supposed non- 
performance of promises made by the Company, or 
from suspicion that it was the intention of Govern- 
ment to transport the regiments to fresh quarters 
by sea.-f* 

With regard to all these cases of military insubor- 
dination there is one circumstance worthy of especial 
remark, viz., that no one of them ever became really 
formidable. J They were outbreaks of popular feeling, 
which were quelled at the first appearance of re- 
sistance. Probably none had a duration of more than 
one day. At Vellore a single charge sufficed to rout 
the insurgents. At Barrackpoor they fled at the first 
discharge of the artillery which was brought against 
them. The mutineers appear never to have possessed 
any unanimity of action, of power, of dangerous com- 
bination. To what other cause can this be attributed 
than to caste ? It is this which hinders them, when 
not on duty, from mixing indiscriminately. It pre- 
vents them from indulging in that unrestrained con- 
viviality, in which by unguardedly revealing their 
secret causes of discontent, men mutually encourage 
one another in insubordination. Military outbreaks 
in India have most assuredly had a very different 

* See Captain Williams' Account of Bengal Native Infantry, p. 14. 
+ Ibid. p. 204. 

♦ Ibid. p. 204. 



48 



THE THEORY AND 



character from those in any other part of the world. 
We know of no better cause to which this can be 
attributed, than to the existence of caste among the 
men who compose our regiments. It is this which 
forms a bar to all amalgamation, and which renders 
successful conspiracy impossible. It is this which 
guarantees their obedience, and which has made it 
impossible for any of the political adventurers, who 
have arisen at the fall of Indian dynasties, to work 
upon their fidelity. 

To such an extent indeed has this been the ease, 
that though, since the days of Clive, we have con- 
stantly had in our employ never less than thirty 
or forty thousand native sepoys; though they have 
been commanded by Europeans, necessarily to a con- 
siderable extent young and inexperienced officers, 
who rarely were acquainted with the language of 
even a single one of the many nations of which 
they are composed ; though they have too often 
wantonly insulted their feelings, and ridiculed their 
religious opinions ; though they were for a long time 
excluded from all rank, but that of havildars and 
naiks, the very lowest of non-commissioned officers ; 
though when commissions were given them their 
officers were treated by those of the line with the 
grossest injustice, and the most supercilious contempt ; 
though, in short, they have often been the subjects of 
tyranny and of indignities, casually or designedly 
heaped upon them, yet mutiny or insubordination has 
but rarely arisen. This, too, though they have seen 



PRACTICE OF CASTE, 



49 



the spectacle of their rulers, at least twice, on the 
point of civil war: once in 1777, # when Warren 
Hastings quarrelled with General Clavering and the 
Council ; and again in 1807, when differences arose at 
Madras between General Macdowall and the Gover- 
nor, Sir George Barlow, and blood was actually shed 
at Seringapataui and Chitteldroog by the mutineers 
of Mysore.f They have preserved an unalterable 
fidelity to their standard and their "salt:" their 
attachment to their military honour has ever been 
found greater than any that they bore for their coun- 
try, their kindred, their native prince, or even their 
religion. 

A remarkable instance of this was displayed at 
the insurrection of Benares in 1781, J consequent upon 
Warren Hastings seizing, in a most unjustifiable man- 
ner, the Rajah, Cheyte Sing, at the time of a public 
festival. Although the sepoys were of the same re- 
ligion and nation as the assailants ; and although they 
must, in some degree at least, have partaken of the 
feelings which influenced them, yet in retaining the 
person of the Rajah four companies with their officers 
were cut to pieces to a man. But not only did a 
company of fifty, who were with the governor in the 
greatest peril, remain faithful, but others, who were 
dispersed in the town in cantonments, and who might 
easily have escaped, preferred joining their corps. 
With these Warren Hastings retreated to the rock of 

* See MacFarlane's India, Vol. i. p. 173. + Ibid. Vol. ii.p, 181 
+ Ibid. Vol. i. p. 206. 

E 



50 



THE THEORY AND 



Chunar. There he collected other sepoys — for all the 
European troops were at a distance, either watching 
the Mahrattas, or drawing the first war with Tippoo 
to a close — and with sepoys, and sepoys alone, he put 
down one of the most critical insurrections that ever 
disturbed our Indian rule. 

In the case of a riot which occurred at the same 
place about twenty years later, the fidelity of our 
sepoys was still more severely tried.* The tumult 
began by the Mussulmans breaking down a famous 
pillar, named Siva's walking- staff, held in high vene- 
ration by the Hindoos. These last, in revenge, de- 
stroyed a mosque, and the Mahometans retaliated by 
killing a cow, and pouring her blood into the sacred 
well. In consequence every Hindoo capable of bear- 
ing arms, and many who had no other fitness for the 
employment than rage supplied, procured weapons, 
and attacked their enemies with frantic fury. Being 
the most numerous party, they'put the Mussulmans 
in danger of actual extermination, and would certainly 
have burned every mosque in the place before twenty- 
four hours were over, if our sepoys had not been called 
in. Of these last the greater number were Hindoos, 
and perhaps one-half Bramins, any one of whom, if 
he had been his own master, would have rejoiced in 
an opportunity of shedding his life's blood in a quar- 
rel with the Mussulmans. Of the mob, whom they 
were led to attack, the Bramins, Yogis, Gossains, 
and other religious mendicants, formed the front rank. 
* See Heber's Journey, Vol. i. p. 429. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



51 



With their bodies and faces covered with chalk and 
ashes, with their long* hair untied, as devoted to death, 
they pointed to their zenaar, the sacred badge of their 
order, and yelled out the bitterest curses of their 
religion against our sepoys if they persisted in waging 
an unnatural war against their brethren and their 
gods. These were, however, immoveable. Regard- 
ing their military oath as the most sacred of all obli- 
gations, they fired at a Bramin as readily as at a 
Mussulman. They kept guard at the gate of a mosque 
as faithfully and fearlessly as if it had been the tem- 
ple of Siva himself. Their courage and steadiness 
preserved Benares from ruin, and quenched a dis- 
turbance which threatened to put all India in a flame. 

It must not, however, be supposed that our mili- 
tary institutions have had no reference to their natural 
prejudices and antipathies. These have only been 
repressed so far as they have been held injurious to 
the discipline or the utility of the army. Our sepoys, 
with a few exceptions, possess the same liberty as 
they would enjoy, if employed in the service of a 
Hindoo rajah. We have, it is true, led them across 
the Indus, mounted them on hogskin saddles, trans- 
ported them from place to place by sea, prevented 
them from eating naked ; and latterly, have paid no 
regard to caste in the selection of native officers, so 
that the Bramin and Rajpoot is liable to obey a 
Sudra or Chandala, and the haughty Nayr and Poly- 
gar of Malabar to receive a command from the de- 
spised Pariah, by each of which actions caste is irre- 



55 



THE THEORY AND 



trievably lost. Yet this has not been effected at onee. 
It has arisen from years of discipline, and intimate 
acquaintance with our own undisguised feelings on 
such subjects. 

If at some time or other we had not made ourselves- 
aware of their antipathies, and as far as possible hu- 
moured their prejudices, we should never have found 
them so devoted to our service, or sanguine in the pur- 
suit of our enterprises. Great, indeed, is the praise 
due to our Indian government, for having gradually 
brought the army into its present efficient state, by 
modifying for military purposes the institution of caste. 
The comparative liberality of our pay. which enables 
the sepoy comfortably to support his family, to which, 
like all Asiatics, he is very much attached, would al- 
ways have rendered our service popular. Our system 
of rewards and pensions, for wounds and service, and 
above all the regularity with which they are paid — 
a regularity unexampled in Oriental history — would 
doubtless have lured men to our standard. Very many 
would have served us in preference to native princes, 
who never, before the prevalence of European habits 
among them, had conceived of any more certain me- 
thod of paying an army, than by grants of land in the 
conquered provinces, or by assignments on the revenue 
of districts — a mode which generally led to mutinies 
among the troops, from the difficulty of realizing their 
pay. 

Our* recruits, however, would have been men of the 

* Oude and the disturbed districts of the native princes, where life 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



63 



lowest rank, the refuse of society, instead of, as they 
now are, the most respectable Ryots, Bramins, Raj- 
poots, and the poorer members of the very highest 
castes. We should in vain have looked for that ready 
valour, which has not been surpassed by that of the 
most warlike nations ; valour which on two occasions, 
on one of which they were opposed to French sol- 
diers,* 1 urged our sepoys to advance, even after the 
troops of the King's service had been repulsed. We 
should not have found that persevering intrepidity , 
which contributed in no small degree to all our suc- 
cesses in India.f There would have been lacking that 
gallant bearing which did good service at the battles 
of Plassy, Assaye, and Meeanee, and more recently at 
those of Moodkee, Aliwal, and Sobraon — that bravery 
which did so much to retrieve our disasters, if not our 
disgrace in Cabul, that their conduct extorted this 
confession from the heroj of that campaign : " I was 

and property are insecure, are said to furnish us with a considerable 
number of recruits,. They are not, however, in general worthless fel- 
lows, the ©ffscouring of society, but men of respectability in their own 
station of life ; they >enter our service for the purpose of indulging & 
propensity for arms, or of bettering their condition. 
* Elphinstone's India, p. 5.98. 

+ The intrepidity with which our sepoys endured the intense suffer- 
ings in Colonel Monson's disastrous retreat, will never be forgotten. 
Accustomed to live on riee, they have in oases of distress, voluntarily 
relinquished their share of animal food, and generously presented it to 
the European troops, who suffer intensely from want of it. See Cap- 
tain William's Bengal Battalion Infantry, p. 369., 

I MacFarlane's India, VoL ii. p. 40L. 



54 



THE THEORY AND 



obliged," says General Nott, " more than once to tell 
even my own officers, that I would save their honour 
and their lives in spite of themselves. Our sepoys 
always acted nobly, and I could have done anything 
with them, and at the very time when the press 
abused and calumniated these men, I could in per- 
fect confidence have led 5,000 sepoys against 20,000 
Affghans." On this but one comment is necessary^ 
viz., that the Affghans are considered the bravest of 
Asiatics. 5 * 

He must be well acquainted with India who would 
understand the mystery of caste ; yet without this 
knowledge he would in vain train sepoys to fight his 
battles. 

It was ignorance of this,, which ruined the fortunes- 
of Count Lally, and led to the annihilation of French 
influence in India. Lally was profoundly ignorant of 
the complex nature of Indian society. He forcibly 
employed the different castes in labours to which they 
had not been accustomed, or which they deemed 
derogatory to their dignity. The more rigour he ex- 
ercised, the greater became the difficulty of finding 
labourers, or of getting any work done. His sepoys 
were disgusted. Careless of success, they fought with- 
out spirit, and seized every opportunity for desertion. 
His ill treatment of Bramins, his pillage of temples,, 
and the excesses of his followers in their march upon 

* Nevertheless, when a regiment has been overworked, the sepoys 
have sat down, and the European officers have not been able to rouse- 
them to attack the enemy. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



55 



Tanjore, surpassed even the worst atrocities of the 
Pindarrees and Senassie Fakirs. A regiment of hus- 
sars was constantly employed in cattle-lifting. The 
natives saw their cows and oxen driven into the 
French camp, where no price was paid or even pro- 
mised ; their sacred bulls were mercilessly slaugh- 
tered ; their women outraged to the last degree. At 
Kivalore, on the line of his march, stood a pagoda 
supposed to contain great riches. Here he halted, 
ransacked the place and the houses of the Bramins, 
dragged the tanks, and got possession of a multitude 
of idols, which to his bitter disappointment were found 
to be composed, not of gold, but of brass. On another 
occasion he seized Bramins, men revered as much for 
their piety as for their caste, and blew them from the 
mouths of his cannon ; by this means incurring a hor- 
rible odium without any profit. These excesses, un- 
popular as they would have made him in any country, 
had an effect upon the feeling of the Hindoos, which 
no favours and no successes could ever erase ; and he 
fell, and with him fell the French rule in India ; less 
by its military than its political errors ; less by its 
misfortunes in the field, than by disaffection in its own 
camp, arising from this very subject of caste. 

Such mistakes in policy our Indian government, 
from its long acquaintance with the character of the 
natives, has carefully avoided. In military affairs it 
has singularly adapted itself to their prejudices. For 
more than a century, they have enjoyed in the camp 
of Europeans as much toleration as they would have 



56 



THE THEORY AND 



done if serving a Hindoo master, or at any rate as 
much as satisfies their religious scruples. Yet withal 
caste is diminishing : as the soldiers become more 
enlightened, and better acquainted with European 
feelings, they lose their respect for one point after 
another of their natural prejudices. These gradually 
fall into disuse. When they are in this condition, 
an order of the council abolishes them, and the steady 
spirit of strict discipline effectually prevents their 
revival. 

Again, many of our sepoys are the descendants of 
men who have served us. They have been born in 
our camps, brought up in a daily regard for our insti- 
tutions, and have known no other master than the 
Company. On entering the ranks they have no pre- 
conceived antipathies to conquer. They have learned 
to regard their caste no further than the regulations of 
the camp allow. They learn to pay little respect to 
its rules, and to be indifferent spectators of the most 
glaring offences against its spirit. To conclude with 
the words of the great Duke of Wellington, " I know 
well the feeling of the Indian army ; I know its sub- 
ordination and discipline to be such, that there is no 
feeling of distinction as concerns religion or caste, any 
more than among British troops."* 

Another important guarantee for the fidelity of our 
sepoys, which arises from caste, should not be omitted. 
The Cshatrya or military class, as we have before ob- 

* Speech in defence of Lord Ellenborough, upon the restoration of 
the Gates of Somnaut. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



57 



served, were in theory, whatever might be the actual 
practice, considered to hold the profession of arms 
exclusively by inheritance, and to rank next to the 
Bramins ; whilst the inferior classes were enjoined to 
treat them with profound respect. Hence by permit- 
ting men of the lower ranks to be enrolled in our 
army, we have very sensibly elevated their character, 
and have given them a higher social rank ; a rank 
which they hold by serving us, and by that alone. In 
return it becomes their policy, no less than their duty, 
to be faithful to our rule, as its subversion would in 
every respect injure their social, as well as pecuniary 
circumstances. Whilst at the same time the proud 
hereditary soldiery, who had hitherto looked upon 
such men as beings of a lower grade in creation, have 
been driven by the inflexible power of discipline to 
assume different habits of thinking, and to look upon 
the Sudra, if not as an equal, at any rate not as an 
inferior. From these circumstances, the influence of 
caste is greatly diminishing among our Hindoo sol- 
diery. The day is, perhaps, not so far distant as some 
may imagine, when it will for all practical purposes 
cease ; when Bramins and Sudras, Rajpoots and Jats, 
Goojurs, Bunneas, Kaits, Paiks, Mahometans, and 
Parsees, Jains and Christians, men of every caste, 
tribe, and nation, will join together in one mess, and 
associate with as much, or possibly more freedom, than 
Europeans of the same number of different nations, 
sects, and religions.* 

* See Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 431. 



58 



THE THEORY AND 



With caste, as with other customs peculiar to India, 
it has been the policy of the East India Company to 
interfere as little as possible. They are subjects 
which, they soon discovered, were to be handled with 
the greatest delicacy. The introduction of laws, un- 
less they carry with them the feelings of the people, 
are in all cases of little avail ; but in regard to direct- 
ing the sentiments or opinions of masses of men, have 
absolutely an effect opposite to that intended. Of the 
Hindoo notions on religious subjects, of which caste 
forms one, this has long since been observed as espe- 
cially true. Dubois describes them as a people who will 
submit to extortion, to having their wives and children 
sold as slaves, in fine to every species of civil oppres- 
sion, but that once interfere with their religion, and 
they are an ungovernable nation, whose fierce pas- 
sions are uncontrollable. If we consider the scenes of 
strife and bloodshed, which have arisen at different 
times and places, but especially at Benares, as de- 
scribed in a preceding section, and at the great fairs of 
Hurdwar, from religious insult and intolerance, it is 
apprehended that every person conversant with the In- 
dian character, will assent to the truth of what Dubois 
has remarked. 

Consistent with this idea has been the policy of our 
Government. Well aware that for many years (even 
if the same may not now be true) our empire was not 
founded upon the good-will of the people, or our own 
popular acts, but was an " empire of opinion" as it has 
been termed, that is, one founded upon a prevailing 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 59 

idea among our subjects, that we are morally and 
physically their superiors, and that no power which 
they could exert against us will ever effect our removal. 
Well aware of this, the East India Company have 
made it a fundamental point in their policy, never to 
afford the people an opportunity of learning their 
strength by a sudden outbreak of popular fury. Hence 
the Directors have been especially careful that the 
prejudices of the natives should be respected. They 
have given encouragement to their feasts, have never 
confiscated either the devutter, pirutter or bramutter : 
that is, the property respectively attached to Hindoo 
temples, Mahometan mosques, and Bramins. Hence 
it was that at one time they supported their religious 
ceremonies, even the foul rites of Juggernaut himself, 
and respected local customs. For a long time they 
allowed Suttees and human sacrifices even at Sagor,* 
within sight as it were of Calcutta itself. Aware, 
too, how much caste kept the people from uniting 
in any general enterprise, they long countenanced its 
pretensions, and in doing so have even neglected 
the claims of religious toleration, and done injus- 
tice to men of their own religion and of their own 
country. 

* Sagor Island is a celebrated place of pilgrimage among the Hin- 
doos, on account of the great sanctity arising from its situation at the 
junction of the holiest branch of the Ganges, with the Ocean. Many 
human sacrifices were, in consequence, there performed, of aged per- 
sons of both sexes, which were voluntary, and of children, which were 
forced, MacFarlane's India, Vol. h. p. 150. 



60 



THE THEORY AND 



For many years there existed regulations, "that no 
person should be authorized to officiate as a vakeel, or 
as a district ruoonsif, without the previous sanction of 
the provincial court, nor unless he be of the Hindoo or 
Mahometan persuasion."* " Will it be believed," says 
Heber, " that whilst the Rajah of Tanjore kept his 
dominions, Christians were eligible to all the different 
offices of state, whilst now, there is an order of Go- 
vernment against their being admitted to any employ- 
ment."f 

In cases like this, that caution which is of vital im- 
portance to the preservation of our Indian power, was 
doubtless carried to excess. Its exercise may in some 
instances have been attended with great hardship, and 
apparent injustice. Individual merit may have been 
sacrificed to the exigencies of state policy. These, 
however, will occur more or less under every form of 
government. Private advantage must ever succumb 
to the public good. 

Our Indian rulers observed that, for seven centuries, 
Mahometans of Persia and Tartary kept the Hindoos 
in subjection ; that during that period, though Hin- 
doo chiefs, and Mahometan Omrahs and Atabegs of 
wealth and influence, could, by holding out a prospect 
of plunder to their followers, without much difficulty 
excite a rebellion, it was interference with their reli- 

* See Keg. 27, of 1814, for the office of vakeel or lawyer, and Reg. 
23, of 1814, for that of moonsif or judge of a minor court. These 
were repealed in 1831. 

t See Hehers Journey, Vol. iii. p. 463. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE, 



61 



gion alone, which roused the feelings of the natives as 
a body ; that, enjoying a free exercise of this, they were 
a people who submitted without resistance to any con- 
queror. On these considerations their policy of non- 
interference with native customs was founded, and so 
justly founded, that no insurrection of importance has 
yet disturbed our Indian rule. This absence of rebel- 
lion is a most remarkable feature in the history of our 
internal government of India. From our first acquisi- 
tion of territory to the present day, there has been no- 
where any general rising or struggle for independence. 
Before our system was well known, there may have 
been occasional resistance to the payment of revenue, in 
the hope of obtaining better terms, after the practice 
which had long been common under the native go- 
vernments, when the mode of seeking an abatement of 
rent was by pointing guns at the collector, but such 
outbreaks the mere exhibition of force has generally at 
once quelled.* In fact, offences such as treason. and 
sedition are so uncommon, as scarcely to form the 
subject of legislation. Probably, during the whole 
course of our Indian history, there has never been a 
civil execution for a political crime. 

We have left changes in habits and customs to 
the sure power of civilization and education. Our 
presence in the country has set a spirit of inquiry 
abroad, which has ended in indifference for many 
ceremonies, which formed leading features in the 
habits of the Hindoos. The Company may, perhaps. 

* See Campbell's India, pp. 200 and 47*2. 



62 



THE THEORY AND 



have occasionally acted with undue timidity, when 
they refused the Christian that impartial favour and 
protection which were extended to the Moolah and 
the Bramin.* Most of such distinctions, however, 
have for some years been abolished. When even the 
natives began to perceive the cruelty and absurdity 
of suttees, when they were not even popular among 
the better part of the people,f Government forbade 
them first at Sagor, and then throughout the whole of 
its dominions. The same may be observed of infan- 
ticide, and many other customs which have disgraced 
Indostan. Similar considerations regulate its policy 
with regard to caste. When the undermining in- 
fluence of reason shall have sapped its foundations, 
then, like other customs opposed to the welfare of 
society, its restrictions, as far as they are still in any 
way directly or indirectly encouraged by our laws, 

* Against this may be laid the fact, that it is with money collected 
from the natives that Christian churches have been built and bishop- 
rics endowed. 

+ In the code of Menu, and in the oldest Shasters, there is not even 
an allusion to suttees. The duties of a widow are frequently de- 
scribed with great particularity, and in a manner totally opposed to 
self-immolation. Earn Mohun Eoy translated many passages bear- 
ing on this subject into Hindostannee, and in a cleverly-writtea 
tract labours to prove to his fellow- countrymen that suttees were 
contrary to the spirit of their religion, and were too often encouraged 
for the purpose of obtaining the property of the widow. He was sup- 
posed at the time to express the sentiments of the more enlightened 
of his countrymen. Suttees, to the surprise of most persons, were 
abolished without the slightest disturbance. For account of them see 
Elphinstone's India, p. 189. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE, 



63 



will be peaceably and decisively removed. The pro- 
gress of civilization and of religion will be better and 
more rapidly advanced by such cautious, Fabian 
policy, than by any premature forcing which visionary 
theorists would apply. 



64 



THE THEORY AND 



CHAPTEE III. 

THE EFFECTS OF CASTE ON THE SOCIAL AND DOMES- 
TIC INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA. 

Caste is essentially a social and domestic institution. 
It may, by an indirect influence, affect the character 
and spirit of a country's policy, legislation, religion, 
or enterprise ; but it is in the intercourse of ordinary 
life, in the laws of society, in the regulations of the 
domestic circle, that its direct influence is to be dis- 
covered. Thither, then, we will turn our attention, 
and notice, First — Its influence on the natives of India 
themselves. Secondly — Its effects on the intercourse which 
exists between them and the comparatively small number 
of Europeans who rule them. 

First. — Its influence on the natives themselves. 

One of the most important features of caste, among 
whatever people it has prevailed, is its tendency to 
bring the nation to a certain, and that, too, a moderately 
high, pitch of civilization, and after that to cramp every 
attempt at further advance. The cause of this may pro- 
bably be seen by the following considerations : — 



PRACTICE OV CASTE. 



65 



Among savages, each individual, by a small amount 
of reason (between which however and instinct there 
is a very wide gulf) provides himself with the neces- 
saries of life. With his own hand he is furnished 
with his simple garments ; the mat which covers his 
shoulders, the girdle which surrounds his loins, and 
the mocassins which protect his feet. He fabricates, 
too, his own weapons, the instruments of the chase or 
of war, and when he dies leaves to his children the 
task of in turn forming the same implements with 
little or no assistance from his experience. So matters 
go on from age to age, and the advance made in arts 
or cultivation is but small. If it happen, however, 
that a barbarous tribe adopt the principle of the 
division of labour, and assign to each of its members 
and their descendants the duty of making particular 
instruments, or performing particular services ; so that 
one family provide the tribe with leaders, another 
with priests, another with judges or poets ; whilst 
others are farmers or artizans, furnishing their 
tribe with articles of clothing, or the implements of 
peace or of war; if this were to happen, the result 
would be that each man, paying attention to his own 
particular art, would advance to proficiency ; he 
would have others destined to the same life as his 
assistants. These would make equal or greater pro- 
gress. Thus at his death his labours and experience 
would not perish. Generation after generation would 
take up the same art, and carry it forward until it 
arrived at considerable perfection. " AfFert," says 



66 



THE THEORY AND 



Tully,* " vetustas omnibus in rebus longinqua obser- 
vatione incredibilem scientiam ;" or, in the words of 
Manilius — 

" Per varios usus artem experientia fecit, 
Exemplo monstrante viam." 

This perfection, however, would in general be 
merely manual. As no man, whatever his abilities 
or riches, could raise himself above his class, all in- 
ducement for invention or intellectual improvement 
would be taken away ; and when manual dexterity had 
arrived at its limit — a limit which is soon attained — 
an end would be put to all further advance in any 
particular art. Civilization would become in that re- 
spect stationary. Among nations in which caste has 
no existence, or at least merely divides society into 
its respective grades, every encouragement is given 
to invention and improvement. By the benefits re- 
sulting from these things men are taught to look 
for advancement and distinction. Hence they are 
eager after improvements in art and science. Pro- 
gression becomes the necessary condition of existence : 
whoever retrogrades is ruined : — 

" Non aliter quam qui adverso vix flumine lembum 
Eemigiis subigit, si brachia forte remisit, 
Atque ilium in prseceps prono rapit alveus arnni." + 

Machinery takes the place of manual labour ; and 
as the intellectual faculties appear to admit of no 
bounds in improvement, but to be capable of con- 

* "He Div. i. % 49. + Georg. i. 201. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



67 



tinually increased cultivation, so discoveries, which 
are the results of mental consideration, similarly 
appear to possess no limit, and there would seem in 
consequence to be no boundaries to civilization. 

In unison with these laws have been the observed re- 
sults, in whatever countries caste has been paramount 
The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, # were in this 
particular like the Hindoos. The whole nation was 
arranged in seven grand classes, and these again had 
their different departments of trades and professions, 
in which children invariably succeeded their parents. 
The same, too, appears to have been the case in Etru- 
ria and in Lydia, from which the Etrurians are said to 
have migrated. Its effects were such as we have de- 
scribed. These nations early arrived at comparatively 
high civilization. Their artificers quickly surpassed 
those of the neighbouring nations in all the produc- 
tions of manual toil, and in such things have left 
monuments which still command our admiration. 
The vases of Etruria, the mural sculptures of Lydia,f 
and the decorative designs of Egypt, are even still 
imitated. 

Like India, however, they arrived at a certain point 
of civilization, and then became stationary. Caste, 
to whose fostering care they were at first so much 
indebted, thenceforward arrested their progress, and 
they were quickly outstripped by other nations in the 
race of improvement. 

Similar, too, have been the effects of caste wherever 

* Lib. ii. cap. 164. + e. g. The Phigalian marbles. 



68 



THE THEORY AND 



else, and under whatever form, it has exhibited itself; 
whether as a guild in trade,* a monopoly in business, 
or exclusiveness in society, in religion, in politics, or 
in philosophy, f Up to a certain point its influence 
fosters and benefits, beyond that it cramps and injures. 

Such have pre-eminently been its effects on the 
Hindoos. When we first meet with them in the 
page of history, J we find them for the most part 
as polished and as civilized as at present. Unlike 
the early legends of other nations, their stories tell of 
no age of barbarism in which they were untutored 
savages. Their earliest records, which, as might be 
expected, are poetic,^ represent them, even then, as 
possessing much about the same refinement as they 
did when moderns were first made acquainted with 

* The advantages which have accrued to the trade and manufac- 
turing interests of England from the abolition of the exclusive pri- 
vileges of different guilds will readily occur to the reader. Yet it was 
the influence which these guilds exerted, and the power which they 
possessed of marking upon goods their real value, regulating the 
market, controlling the supply, &c, which in the middle ages laid the 
foundation of English commerce. 

+ Throughout the fifteenth century it was the assiduous study of 
Aristotle which advanced and preserved the existence of learning. One 
hundred and fifty years later it was the blind following of the Stagy- 
rite, which more than anything else retarded the progress of science, 
until Cardan, and above all, Bacon, introduced new methods of philoso- 
phical investigation. 

\ The accounts of their civilization, their refined manners, singular 
customs, &c, as given by Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and 
other Greek writers, are in very many particulars accurately descrip- 
tive of their present condition. 

§ e. g. Baghvat Geeta. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



69 



them by the travels of De Barros, Hawkins, or Ray- 
nal. If, as Minerva sprang fully equipped from the 
head of Jove, they appear to issue from the obscurity 
of time, a full-grown polished nation, it is, that under 
the fostering influence of caste they early attained to 
considerable refinement. 

Caste, as we have said before, is partially a religious 
institution. Though it may not at present be so much 
religion, as a slavish superstition, which upholds its 
extraordinary privileges, and reconciles and cements, 
so as to preserve from disorganization, a community 
in which certain interests are kept in immutable sub- 
ordination, yet superstition, upon which it is founded, 
is but a species of religious feeling. 

In this sense the very structure of Indian society 
is formed by a religious system, which to a certain 
degree interferes with every temporal as well as spi- 
ritual concern of its members. To this the mind of 
the Hindoo, naturally feeble and submissive, has for 
so long a period paid unhesitating respect, that it has, 
as it were, lost the powers of doubting, hesitating, and 
examining. Its noblest faculties are impaired or 
destroyed. Hope and fear, the two grand stimulants 
to human exertion, are taken away. Improvement 
and progress have in consequence also vanished. The 
religious obligations of caste may, perhaps, preserve 
internal peace; but whilst they thus assist the first 
steps towards civilization, they so debase the mind, 
and lull it in so languid a repose, that all further 
approaches are entirely precluded. 



70 



THE THEORY AND 



Another important point to be remarked, is the 
character which caste has always given to the villages 
or townships of India, and to the Ryots, or Sudras, who 
inhabit them, and whose employment is agriculture. 

The backwoodsman of America will collect his 
furniture and cattle, and with his solitary family will 
fearlessly penetrate for hundreds of miles into the 
forest, until he finds a soil and situation congenial to 
his taste. His rifle, or some yet more deadly weapon, 
and, above all, the stout heart within him, awe the 
savage or command his respect. Few are the beasts 
of prey which infest the wilds of the far west. The 
grisly bear is a harmless monster; unless attacked, he 
shuns the presence of man. The lion, the tiger, the 
leopard, the panther, and the hyaena— the scourges 
of the east — are unknown. Their representative, 
the jaguar, is rarely found to the north of the Isth- 
mus, and is but a sneaking plunderer, to whom 
the hen-roost or the sheep-pen furnish an ignoble 
banquet. 

In India matters stand not thus. The dense jungle 
teems with monsters of courage and ferocity. The 
Hindoo possesses arms of the most ineffective descrip- 
tion, and is constitutionally a coward : hence he never 
ventured singly to locate himself in the jungle, and re- 
claim land from the wilderness, like the enterprising 
Kentuckian ; but he migrated in communities. Such 
was, doubtless, the origin of the compact villages of 
Indostan, which are not to be referred, as some would 
hold, to the laws of Menu, or the arbitrary enactments 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



71 



of some conqueror, who so divided the country for 
convenience in collecting his revenue. 

When the village was founded, then came into active 
operation the institution of caste- — an institution which 
Hindoos have always considered essential to the 
well-being of society ; just as Englishmen imagine 
that no government can possibly be good whose 
principles are not those of Magna Charta, which does 
not possess its Habeas Corpus Act, and the prudence 
of whose legislation is not guaranteed by a threefold* 
revision of two Houses of Assembly, and a supreme 
head. To each member in a Hindoo village was 
appointed particular duties which were exclusively his, 
and which were in general transmitted to his de- 
scendants. The whole community became one great 
family, which lived together, and prospered on their 
public lands, whilst the private advantage of each 
particular member was scarcely determinable. It 
became then the fairest, as well as the least trouble- 
some, method of collecting the revenue to assess the 
whole village at a certain sum, agreed upon by the 
Tehsildar and headman. This wasf exacted from the 
latter, who, seated on the Chubootra, in conjunction 
with the chief men of the village, managed its affairs, 
and decided upon the quota of each individual 
member. By this means the exclusive character of 
each village was further increased, until they have 

* In the United States, and in most of our colonies, the government 
has this threefold character. 
+ Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 144. 



n 



THE THEORY AND 



become, throughout nearly the whole of the Indian 
peninsula, little republics, supplied, owing to the regu- 
lations of caste, with artizans of nearly every craft, 
and almost independent of any foreign relations. 
Their boundaries are accurately defined, and, owing to 
the strong tide of popular feeliugs which exists, are so 
jealously guarded that they have waged the fiercest 
wars for the possession of a few acres of border land. 

The inhabitants all dwell within the limits of their 
village, which, until recently, were usually protected 
by a little castle or citadel, to defend them from 
straggling bands of Mahrattas, Pindarees or Senassie 
Fakeers, or protect their valuables from neighbouring 
gangs of decoits. 

Each* township manages its internal affairs ; taxes 
itself to provide funds for its internal expenses, as well 
as the revenue due to the State; decides disputes in the 
first instance, and punishes minor offences. For this 
purpose it possesses requisite officers, and though 
under a settled government it is entirely subject to the 
head of the State, yet in many respects it is an 
organized commonwealth, complete within itself, and 
its privileges, though often violated by Government, 
are never denied. They afford protection against 
tyranny, and in time of anarchy preserve order within 
their limits. 

In each village the artizans work for all, each in his 
own trade or profession. One keeps the village re- 

* See Elphinstone, p. 65., and Appendix V. Notes on the Revenue 
System, p, 248. See also Campbell's India, p. 83, et seq. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



73 



cords, the accounts of the community, and even of 
individuals; draws up all deeds and writings, even 
to managing private correspondence. Another is 
guardian of the public boundaries, constable or watch- 
man, head of the police, and public guide or mes- 
senger ; makes himself acquainted with the character 
of every individual, and is bound to find out the pos- 
sessor of stolen property within the township, or trace 
him across the boundary. Another is the money- 
changer, jeweller, and silversmith ; another the 
physician; another the priest and astrologer, who is 
generally also the schoolmaster ; and another the 
musician and minstrel. Then, again, there is the 
carpenter, the smith, the potter, the worker in leather, 
the barber, the tailor, and the washerman. 

The duties of each one of these offices, in a large 
village, may appear beyond the powers of one man, 
but the remuneration derived from fees or public land 
is, by the strange operation of caste, hereditary in a 
particular family, all members of which assist in 
performing the required service- — this, too, with such 
readiness and impartiality, that it is a commonf re- 
mark with the collectors of the East India Company, 
that they never receive or hear of complaints being 
made against these artizans for neglect or non-per- 
formance of their respective duties, or that they served 
one Ryot before his turn, or oftener than another. 

To such a state of things, as is the case with all 
local governments, the people are much attached. 

* See Policy of the Government of British India, a pamphlet, p. 75, 



74 



THE THEORY AND 



These village communities seem to last where nothing 
else lasts. 

" Dynasty after dynasty," says Sir C. T. Metcalfe,* 
" tumbles down ; revolution succeeds to revolution ; 
Hindoo, Patan, Mogul, Mahratta, Sikh, English, are 
all masters in turn; but the village community remains 
the same. In times of trouble they arm and fortify 
themselves : a hostile army passes through the 
country; the village communities collect their cattle 
within their walls, and let the enemy pass unprovoked. 
If plunder and devastation be directed against them- 
selves, and the force employed be irresistible, they flee 
to friendly villages at a distance ; but, when the storm 
has passed over, they return and resume their occupa- 
tions. If a country remain for a series of years the 
scene of continued pillage and massacre, so that the 
village cannot be inhabited, the scattered villagers 
nevertheless return, whenever the power of peaceable 
possession revives. A generation may pass away, but 
the succeeding generation will return. The sons will 
take the places of their fathers ; the same site for the 
village, the same positions for the houses, the same 
lands will be re-occupied by the descendants of those 
who were driven out when the village was depopu- 
lated ; and it is not a trifling matter that will drive 
them out, for they will often maintain their post 
through times of disturbance and convulsion, and 
acquire strength sufficient to resist pillage and 
oppression with success. This union of the village 

* Eeport of Select Committee of House of Commons, 1832. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



75 



communities, each one forming a separate little state 
in itself, has, I conceive, contributed more than any 
other cause to the preservation of the people of India 
through all the revolutions and changes which they 
have suffered, and is in a high degree conducive to 
their happiness, and to the enjoyment of a great por- 
tion of freedom and independence." 

Such is the testimony of Sir C. T. Metcalfe to the 
effects of the village communities of India, which owe, 
if not their origin, at any rate their long existence, to 
the feelings and ideas of exclusiveness, which arise 
from caste. What else could bind down men, who are 
neither public nor private slaves, to labour thus wil- 
lingly for the public good ? What else could induce 
the Ryots to pursue agriculture with that eagerness 
for which they are so remarkable ; that, careless of the 
arbitrary exactions of government and banditti, to 
which they have been constantly exposed, they, under 
even the harshest tyranny, have never ceased to culti- 
vate ? Uninterested in the quarrels of their rulers, 
they have actually been observed pursuing their 
ordinary* avocations whilst a battle was being fought 
in a neighbouring field. 

The stability and the sterling power of a country is 
in general dependent on the prosperity of its agricul- 
ture. Trade may, as in our own favoured land, raise a 
nation to political importance and grandeur, but where 
this is wanting, durability of power is only guaranteed 
to a people by the enterprise of their agriculturalists. 

* See Policy of Government of British India, p. 21, et seq. 



76 



THE THEORY AND 



The industry of a vigorous yeomanry, to a proverb, 
constitutes the strength of every state. In India this 
industry is in great measure due to caste, which may 
thus be considered to have materially contributed to 
the civilization of that country. 

Not only has caste advanced India to civilization, 
but, by its effects on its municipalities and on society, 
has often prevented it from again relapsing into bar- 
barism. Consider what must otherwise have been the 
results of the numerous awful visitations which it has 
endured: invasions, such as those of Mahomet of 
Ohizni, of Zenghis, of Tamerlane, or of Nadir Shah — 
those Attilas and Alarics of the East. It was caste 
which kept society together during that long period of 
revolutions which attended the fall of the house of 
Delhi, and which, lastly, now contributes to render the 
country capable of furnishing an annual revenue of 
forty-eight millions sterling^ — a revenue, it may be 
remarked, which is more than double the income of 
the whole of the Russias. 

In addition to its having preserved in the village 
constituencies great personal liberty, under all the 
changes of government to which Indostan has been 
subject, it forms in another way a great defence 
against the abuses which despotic princes are ever 
ready to commit. Sometimes one may see in a native 
state, through a whole district, the traders shutting 
up their shops, the farmers abandoning the fields, 

* See Campbell's India, p. 409. Only about twenty millions ster- 
ling actually passes through our own hands. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



77 



and the different workmen or artificers quitting their 
booths, by an order from the caste, for the purpose of 
avenging some insult or injury suffered from a governor 
or other person in office. The labours of society 
come to a stand-still, and the greatest inconveniences 
ensue, until the injustice is atoned for, or what is more 
generally the case, the offended caste has come to an 
accommodation with the persons in power. In this 
way the power of caste has often, with the happiest 
effect, stood between the oppressor and the oppressed. 

Englishmen in India have but little opportunity of 
making themselves acquainted with the domestic character of 
the natives. In addition to the natural bar upon inter- 
course which a foreign language presents, too many 
of our Government officers unfortunately fancy that to 
be on familiar terms with a native, or even to treat him 
with civility, is derogatory to their dignity. This no 
doubt is a fault of youth,* and to be attributed to the 
early age at which they are made magistrates, and 
perhaps also their English character and education, 
which renders them averse to intercourse with inferiors. 
Even in Europe few people are well acquainted with 
the opinions of those beyond their own class, and what 
they do know is learned chiefly by means which do 
not exist in India. In that country, besides colour, 
religion, and manners, caste interferes with all familiar 
intercourse between us and the natives. We know 
little of the interior of families but by report. We have 

* See Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 106, &c, for some valuable remarks 
on this subject. 



78 



THE THEORY AND 



little share in those numerous occurrences of life, in 
which the amiable parts of character are most ex- 
hibited. There is little or no visiting between the 
two nations on terms of equality. Except an occa- 
sional attendance at a natch or family festival,* an 
Englishman has rarely any better opportunity of 
learning the Hindoo character than in the courts of 
justice or revenue. It is not there that the most 
virtuous portion of a nation are ordinarily found. 
Hence Europeans have been apt to dwell more upon 
the vices of the Hindoo, which are patent to all, 
than upon his domestic virtues, which they have but 
rare opportunities of observing. Valuable domestic 
virtues, however, he possesses, and some of these, as 
they are intimately connected with the principles of 
caste, we will mention. 

* How much attendance at a natch is a mere ceremony, how little 
is really learned then of the true character, and how wanting the visit 
usually is in that mutual cordiality, &c, which belongs to those 
between persons of the same nation, may be seen in an account of a 
natch which is given by Mrs. Heber, the editress of her husband's 
journey. She sums up her account by remarking, that " the whole 
exhibition was fatiguing and stupid, nearly every charm but that of 
novelty being wanting. I returned home between twelve and one, 
much tired, and not the least disposed to attend another natch." Yet 
this was one given by Baboo Eouplall Mullich, one of the wealthiest 
natives of Calcutta. Hindoo natches are generally idolatrous feasts, 
often accompanied with a great deal that is gross and immoral. Shorn 
of its religious appendages it becomes but a tame ceremony, and as 
such is presented to Europeans. In the case of very many English, 
these form their only opportunities of penetrating the domestic circle 
of the Hindoo. 



PRACTICE OV CASTE. 



79 



First must be noticed his affection to his family and 
to those of his own circle. 

Ward, in his character of the Hindoos, describes 
them rather as they were to be found at Serampore, in 
Bengal, than as giving a general character of the 
nation. The Bengalees are the most debased of all 
Hindoos. Hence his character of the whole nation is 
considered by men better acquainted with the country 
as glaringly unjust. He represents them as possess- 
ing the least possible sense of filial duty and gratitude, 
as abusing their parents, and even beating their 
mothers. To this is to be opposed the fact that our 
sepoys, who are from every part of India, and who 
may on that account well be supposed to represent the 
general character of the inhabitants of the whole 
peninsula — though military pursuits have certainly a 
tendency to smother domestic feelings — are noted 
for their affection for their families and filial duty.* 
Nothing is more common than for soldiers regularly 
to transmit to their friends a part of their pay, and the 
same holds true of servants, more especially of those 
who come from Orissa. 

The strict separation of one set of individuals from 
others, has the effect of increasing their kindness and 
good feeling to one another. This it is, perhaps more 
than anything else, which softens the harsher feelings 
in the character of the Hindoo. However unfeeling 

* See Shore's India, vol. ii. p. 346 ; Captain Williams' description of 
the Bengal Native Infantry, p. 345 ; and "Warren Hastings' despatch 
relative to Cheyte Sing. 



80 



THE THEORY AND 



his conduct towards other men, to his own family and 
caste he is kind and obliging. No greater instance of 
this can be adduced, than the loose manner in whhh 
the rights of property are regarded by members of ti e 
same family, and which, by its long prevalence in some 
parts of India, has rendered it impossible even to de- 
termine the rightful ownership of the land. 

In theory, the principle in landed property among 
the Hindoos is equal division among the sons, with an 
allowance to the eldest for superintending the general 
management of the estate : # in practice, however, the 
most extraordinary confusion prevails, and estates 
have become all but a community of property. At 
the death of a landed proprietor it may, as it often 
does, happen that the eldest son may be indolent, 
stupid, or unable to conduct the family business, whilst 
one of the younger sons may be clever and energetic. 
He will then, by common consent, take the place of 
headman, and in general without opposition from even 
his elder brother. Again, if the head of the family 
die without sons, his son-in-law, or some favourite 
relative, will succeed him to the prejudice of his next 
of kin ; or, if he have a young family, his brother or 
nephews will support them, and perform duties which 
would devolve upon them, which duties, however, on 
coming of age his family will often find difficulty in 
recovering ; as their co-sharers in the estate will 
naturally prefer its affairs, the agreement with the 
tehsildar or collector concerning the taxes, and all 

* Shore's India, vol. ii. p. 189. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



81 



money matters, to be conducted by a man of ex- 
perience and of known talent, rather than by one 
young and unacquainted with the world. 

Again a small piece of land may belong to one 
with a large family, whilst his neighbour, perhaps 
some distant relative, may have a considerable portion, 
and no family, or a very small one. The former, if he 
have interest with the heads of the village, will get 
them to call a punchayet,* and give over to him a por- 
tion of the land which belonged to, or was in posses- 
sion of, the other. By these, and many similar pro- 
ceedings, the titles to land are in many provinces in 
the most uncertain state; and have occasioned our 
Government more trouble than any other civil legisla- 
tion. The celebrated Ryotwar settlement, by which it 
has been attempted to regulate them, has often failed 
in its object, and been the unintentional cause of much 
injustice. 

It is extremely common for a family composed of 
father, sons, sons-in-law, uncles, nephews, and perhaps 
other branches, to live together and virtually to enjoy 
their property in common, the most active among 
them being chosen as the manager. " All money re- 
quired for the use of the family collectively, for the 
marriage of an individual, for carrying on their culti- 
vation or trade, or for any other purpose, is borrowed 
by the head, in his own name, and he signs the bond. 
On the other hand, all sales of produce or merchandize 

* A sitting of the punch or council of the principal persons of the 
village. 

G 



82 



THE THEORY AND 



are conducted by the manager. Indeed, so far is it 
often carried, that should one or more individuals of 
the family be in service, which enables them to save 
money, they transmit the amount, not to their own 
nearest relatives, but to the manager of the whole."* 

Where could such customs as these exist, except in 
a country where social equality was practically carried 
to its highest pitch; where something more than 
mere relationship united the different members of a 
family ? 

In the Highlands of Scotland,f and in some parts 
of Ireland, similar customs once existed. There it 
was the pride and the predominating influence of 
clanship which swallowed up private aggrandizement 
in public advantage. In India it is the idea of caste ; 
not perhaps caste itself so much as the exclusiveness 
and feelings of close connection with one set of men, 
and eternal separation from others, which have their 
origin in that institution.^ Where the poorest feels 
himself, on one point at least, on a par with the 
richest of his own caste, and where the rich and poor 
join at the same simple meal. A feeling which can 
level to such an extent as caste really does, the great 

* Shore's India, vol. ii. p. 210. 

+ In Sir Walter Scott's works there will readily occur to the reader 
many instances of the devotion of each member of a clan to the 
interests of the whole, and of a confidence in their chief, which 
nothing could stagger. 

I Hence, perhaps, arises the extensive use of the word " Baee," or 
brother. In India even servants are thus addressed. Our " Boy" 
is supposed to be the same word as Baee. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



83 



distinction of riches, and which, in theory, aims at 
still greater effects, has made a nearer approach to 
community of goods than any other system has yet 
done. 

The identification of a man's feelings with those 
of a select society to which he belongs, runs through 
the actions of the Hindoo, not merely in relation 
to caste, but also in other situations, and directly or 
indirectly presents an insurmountable opposition to 
enlightened regulations. For instance, the feeling 
of caste-ties will well account for much of the imputed 
perjury of Hindoo witnesses. There is said to pre- 
vail among them the singular notion that, when 
summoned as witnesses by a particular person and 
to a particular fact, it is their duty to swear to 
anything and everything which may tell in his favour, 
and to divulge nothing which may be turned against 
him. Hence our courts of justice have become the 
scenes of perjury and deceit, practised in even the 
simplest cases. It is not the duty of a judge to 
reject the whole of the evidence of a witness, because 
a part of it is manifest perjury. He must, if it be 
possible to become acquainted with them, take cog- 
nizance of facts; where these fail, he must balance 
probabilities. In India, however, the true particulars 
of a case can so rarely be learned, that justice has, 
as it were, been reduced to guess-work ; to a ba- 
lancing, not of facts, but of probabilities alone. Our 
presiding magistrates are neither corrupt, nor wanting 
in the discharge of their duties, but the state of 



84 



THE THEORY AND 



affairs is such that, in very many cases, unimpeach- 
able grounds for a decision cannot be found.* 

Justice, as sculptors have figured her, is in truth 
blind, but it is the blindness, not of impartiality, but 
of ignorance and bewilderment. How fatal to the 
due administration of the laws this habit of the 
natives proves, we may observe from the following 
words of a judge of circuit : — f 

" Every day's experience and reflection on the 
nature of our courts, and the minds and manners 
of the natives, serve to increase my doubts about our 
capacity to discover truth among them. It appears 
to me, that there is a very great deal of perjury of 
many different shades in our judicial proceedings; 
and that many common rules of evidence would here 
be inapplicable and absurd. Even the honest men, 
as well as the rogues, are perjured. The most 
simple and the most cunning alike make assertions 
that are incredible or that are certainly false. I am 
afraid that the evidence of witnesses in our courts is, 
for the most part, an instrument in the hands of 
men, and not an independent, untouched source of 
truth." 

The character of the Hindoo is naturally patient, 
supple, and insinuating above all other Asiatics. His 
long subjection to foreign conquerors, his constitu- 
tional timidity, his love of repose, and his limited 

* See Campbell's India, p. 484, for remarks on the prevalence of 
perjury in our Indian courts. 

+ See Shore's India, vol. ii. p. 175. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



85 



powers of resistance, have at all times made him 
more anxious to smother his feelings and avert force 
by fraud, and intimidation by subserviency, than risk 
the inconvenience which might arise from open and 
direct opposition. 

This character is materially encouraged by caste. 
Its regulations concerning the respect due from in- 
dividuals of one class to those of another, which enter 
into the whole system of life, have a tendency to put 
down the insolence of inferiors, and the haughtiness 
of superiors, and thus encourage that submissive 
politeness for which they are so celebrated. To a 
similar cause, too, we may refer a good deal of that 
Oriental bombast with which superiors are addressed, 
which, even after every allowance has been made for 
the different degrees of force which nations give to 
the language of civility, is still but gross flattery. 

We next proceed to notice some of the social and 
domestic anomalies which arise from the ideas of exclu- 
siveness instilled into the minds of Hindoos by caste. 
First of all stand those numerous coalitions for the 
commission of crime t for which India has long been 
celebrated : her Decoit gangs, her Thugs, her horrible 
armies of Pindarrees and Sennassie Fakirs. 

Each village in India is distinct from its neighbour. 
The existence of the same religion, and the fact of 
being under the same government, preserve social 
feelings among them ; in other respects, they have 
little kindred feeling ; hence they make no scruple of 
mutually plundering one another. On a favourable 



86 



THE THEORY AND 



night, the more enterprising scoundrels of one village 
will band together, and, perhaps, put themselves under 
the direction of one of the caste of thieves'* (for such 
a caste exists) ; men who, like our own gipsies, are 
brought up to consider robbing their hereditary occu- 
pation, and are notorious for their professional dex- 
terity. Such men will enter a neighbouring village, 
and before an alarm is given, will plunder several 
houses, and then make off to their own home. Their 
detection is generally impossible, for though known 
among their own village, they rarely betray one 
another, or are betrayed by others. Each man is 
careless of general or public advantage ; his feelings 
are exclusive. Such outrages affect not himself, or 
the small circle to which caste confines all his ideas. 
What business, then, has he to interfere with deeds 
which he looks upon as the authorized and legitimate 
occupation of others? Hence, decoitee, when suc- 
cessful, is regarded more in the light in which a 
border foray was anciently held in Cumberland and 
Northumberland, than as a mean crime. Such notions 
as these it was which, some twenty years back, ren- 
dered decoitee so common in India, that many parts 
of the country were depopulated ; and in Bengal, 
especially, it materially interfered with our annual 
revenue. 

* See Elphinstone's India, p. 191 . It may be remarked that the 
long descent of the thievish castes, gains them no sympathy from 
the rest of the community. It is not on this account that they 
are tolerated. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



87 



Another of the social scourges of India are the 
TJiugs. They constitute a large class, who continually 
travel about the country, assuming different dis- 
guises, an art in which they are great adepts. Their 
practice is, to insinuate themselves into the society of 
a traveller whom they hear to be possessed of pro- 
perty. Such a one they accompany, until they have 
an opportunity of throwing a noose round his neck, 
or administering a stupifying drug. He is then mur- 
dered without blood being shed, and so skilfully 
buried, that a long time usually elapses before his 
fate is suspected. These proceedings are considered 
to be particularly pleasing to a deity under whose 
tutelage the whole caste is supposed to live. Like 
the banditti and pirates of the middle ages, who made 
supplications for success, and vowed a portion of the 
spoil to the Madonna, they pray, and present votive 
offerings to the goddess Bhawani. 

There is nothing, one would think, against which 
society would more unanimously rise, than against a 
system like this : yet in India it has existed from 
the most remote times. Occasionally the whole 
family of a Thug, even his youngest children, have 
been imprisoned, and, perhaps, kept in confinement 
for life ; but in native states no very decided steps for 
its suppression have ever been taken. Soon after the 
destruction of the kingdom of Mysore, however, it 
reached its climax; and became so intolerable a 
nuisance as to attract the especial attention of the 
English government. Of late it has probably ceased, 



88 



THE THEORY AND 



having been vigorously hunted down by a branch of 
our Indian police, armed for this purpose with extra- 
ordinary powers.* Its existence, like that of decoitee, 
was guaranteed by the want of mutual sympathy 
among the natives, and by the many similar feelings of 
the human mind, which are fostered by caste. 

The same holds true of those more wholesale ma- 
rauders the Pindarrees.f These were not a distinctive 
race, united by nationality or religion, but were men 
of all countries, creeds, and castes, associated and gra- 
dually assimilated by one common pursuit, that of 
plunder. They were all horsemen, and all robbers. 
In some respects, they were like the Tartars. These, 
however, when they came to a rich and fertile country, 
would settle and become herdsmen or shepherds. 
Not so the Pindarrees. Like swarms of locusts, acting 
from instinct, they laid waste the provinces which 
they visited. After committing the most horrible 
atrocities, they destroyed whatever they were unable 
to carry away. Their policy was to plunder and fly. 
If retreat was possible, they never fought. What is 
most singular, it was the very miseries which they 
created which supplied their ranks. Those who had 
been ruined by their depredations, joined the stream 
which they could not withstand, and endeavoured to 
redeem their own losses by inflicting the same upon 
their neighbours. Unrestrained by any feelings of 

* For a description of these see Campbell's India, p. 462. 
+ For description of them see MacFarlane's India, vol. ii. p. 206. Sir 
John Malcolm's Memoir of Central India, &c. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



89 



patriotism or honour, they would assist in the plunder 
of villages, even in their own particular districts. As 
long as they did not break the conventional rules 
which kept them members of one little bigoted circle, 
they cared not if they were universal outlaws. 

Of all fanatics, however, who have ever commanded 
respect, toleration, or fear, the Sennassie Fakirs* bear 
the palm. They are an assemblage of men, who unite 
the several characters of saints, jugglers, robbers, and 
cut-throats, which, according to Indian notions and 
superstitions, are not irreconcilable. They wander 
throughout the country in a state verging upon nu- 
dity, pretending to live by alms, but in reality, steal- 
ing, plundering, murdering, and committing every act 
of obscenity and violence. In the reign of the Em- 
peror Aurangzib (1676), under the name of Satna- 
ramis, they collected in great numbers to avenge the 
death of one of their members. Headed by an old 
woman, who pretended to powers of enchantment, de- 
fended also by their religious character, and a belief 
that they were possessed of magical powers, they were 
for some time invincible. At the height of his power 
they made that emperor tremble on his throne, and 
threatened Delhi itself. The remembrance of the de- 
vastation and crimes, which they then committed, 
was only effaced by fresh atrocities, which they per- 
petrated about a century afterwards, when Warren 
Hastings was Governor-General. A swarm of them 
fell silently and rapidly upon the province of Bengal. 

* For description, see MacFarlane, vol. i. p. 150. 



90 



THE THEORY AND 



In bodies of 2,000 or 3,000 strong they went in search 
of prey. Wherever they penetrated they burned and 
destroyed the villages, committing every abomination. 
If this had occurred in any other country, no feeling 
either of fear or superstition, would have restrained 
the inhabitants from taking vengeance upon them, by 
cutting off their stragglers, destroying their intelli- 
gence, and furnishing a pursuing army every facility 
for capturing them. Yet such was the fatal apathy of 
the Bengalees — an apathy produced no less by super- 
stitious fear, than by the destruction, by the damping 
influence of caste, of all those feelings, which make a 
man anxious for the benefit of the whole community — 
that they either refused intelligence or wilfully misled 
our troops. " In spite," says Warren Hastings, " of 
the strictest orders issued, and the severest penalties 
threatened, to the inhabitants, in case they fail in 
giving intelligence of the approach of the Sennassies, 
they are so infatuated by superstition, as to be back- 
ward in giving the information, so that the banditti 
are sometimes advanced into the very heart of our 
provinces, before we know anything of their motions ; 
as if they dropped from Heaven to punish the inha- 
bitants for their folly ." # The Sennassie Fakirs were 
never conquered. After defeating a detachment of 
sepoys, and so devastating the country that their visit 
and various depredations proved a serious blow to the 
revenues of the Company, as well from real as pre- 
tended losses, they finally made good their retreat to 
* Letter to Sir Gr. Colebrooke, March 1773. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



91 



the wild country which lies between India, Thibet, 
and China. 

The Fakir and Bairagee, covered with sores and 
filth — an object often as disgusting as can well be 
imagined — still wanders through India, still extorts 
alms from the inhabitants, and is still suspected of 
being a cut-throat and a murderer. It is not to be 
supposed that this endurance of the atrocities of com- 
binations of villains, the origin of which we have re- 
ferred to, what may be called, the patriotic feelings 
being annihilated by caste, is only exhibited in the 
passive endurance of such monster coalitions as those 
of the Sennassie Fakirs and Pindarrees ; it extends to 
minor abuses. Not to mention the Nagas of Bundel- 
cund, the Ghonds, the Bheels, the Mairs, and the 
Puharrees,* as arrant cattle-lifters as ever were our 
own Highlanders, whose periodic descents from their 
hills have been endured by the neighbouring nations 
for so long, without any attempt at resistance, we may 
notice that in every large town in Upper India, there 
are gangs of bullies,f who make a living by perambu- 
lating the streets and picking quarrels with respect- 
able people. From these they extort money, by the 

* Vide Heber's Journey, for interesting account of Puharrees, the 
" Gaels of the East," and their kindred, the Bheels and the Gooand 
tribes. They are, apparently, branches of the same great family, 
which pervade all the mountainous centre of India. Their method of 
living has for a long period been the exact counterpart of that of the 
Scotch Highlanders, down to the middle of the eigthteenth century. 
See also, MacFarlane's India, vol. ii. p. 118, &c. 

+ See Shore's India, vol. i. p. 383. 



92 



THE THEORY AND 



threat of lodging in the magistrate's office a com- 
plaint which they have always witnesses at hand to 
attest. 

In every market town in the upper provinces, there 
are gangs of self-constituted w T eighmen, chokedars, # 
heads of markets, and a variety of other people, who 
interfere with the farmers and dealers in a most vexa- 
tious manner, and whose sole livelihood is derived 
from the illegal fees and exactions which they levy 
upon the people. Such, and a thousand similar nui- 
sances, are endured in India from that lack of unity of 
public opinion and purpose, which can alone effectually 
repress them. 

Before investigating the influence of caste upon the 
intercourse existing between Europeans and the na- 
tives, we will remark on its effects upon the style in 
which Europeans in India live. 

The number of servants they entertain, cannot fail 
to attract the attention of every one on his first arrival 
at Calcutta. It is in this particular that he is first 
made acquainted with caste, and it too often happens, 
that he never gains any further knowledge on the sub- 
ject. He finds the subdivisionf of labour owing to 
this cause, and the want of machinery for the simplest 
purposes, carried almost to infinity. There is no such 
thing as a " servant of all work." His dressing boy 
will not light or extinguish the lamp. His palanquin- 
bearer will not hold his horse. His cook will not 

* A kind of policemen. 

+ See " Letters from an Eastern Colony," 1829, p. 7, et seq. 





PRACTICE OF CASTE. 93 

wash his own utensils ; he wants coolies and chupras- 
sies, to bear burdens and go errands. His khamsa, or 
butler, must have his matey, his groom must have 
his grass-cutter, his gardener his water-drawer, his 
washerman his ironing-man. The man who supplies 
him with milk cannot furnish him with butter : 
they are distinct offices, which must not be con- 
founded. He soon finds that he must necessarily 
keep about six times as many servants as in England. 
He proceeds to hire them, and here usually commits a 
blunder, which has, perhaps, done more to restrain our 
intercourse with the natives, than any other circum- 
stance. 

The English in India being an excessively migra- 
tory people, it often happens that, after a short time, 
their whole establishment may have to be broken up, 
or removed to a place at several hundred miles' 
distance. Moreover, every Englishman on his first 
arrival is generally unacquainted with the language of 
the country, and knows little of that almost boundless 
subject, Oriental etiquette. He is too an eater of veal 
and beef, and an habitual offender against Hindoo 
religion. Hence, the better class of native domestics 
prefer the service of one of their own nation and re- 
ligion, where their position, and the duties which they 
have to perform, are by no means so degrading. 
Those who present themselves to our parvenu, are in- 
dividuals of but doubtful character, Pariahs accus- 
tomed to every indignity, or infamous wretches who 
have forfeited their standing in society, by disgraceful 



94 



THE THEORY AND 



crimes. From these, without requiring any testimo- 
nials or character, he usually selects those of the 
lowest class — maters, choomars, and such like — as they 
are more willing than others to neglect the orders of 
caste, and perform any service that is expected. Here 
is an effectual bar at once put upon all intercourse 
with the superior castes of natives. How could a high 
caste Bramin visit and eat with a man whose viands 
he knows are dressed by a mater cook, and perhaps 
brought to the table by a choomar ? # 

The establishments of Englishmen, too, are so large, 
that they are often not acquainted with even a tithe 
of their household, and usually leave its government 
to one favourite domestic, whose conduct they con- 
sider most analogous to that of an English servant. 
This man, who may be one of the low castes, plays off 
his master to his own advantage ; only allows of those 
servants who are subservient to his will; perhaps 
fills the house with men of the lowest caste ; and uses 
every precaution for making his master unapproach- 
able by all but those who present a douceur — who 
unlock the presence-chamber with a silver key. How 
can a Rajpoot, for instance — proud of his caste and 
honour, and the many noble virtues for which his 
race have been so justly celebrated — how can he, 
some descendant perhaps of the Rajahs or Rah tors 
of Canouge, or Jyepoor, or some scion, it may be, of 
the kings of Marwar, who through a thousand gene- 
rations at last trace their descent from the gods — 
* The table servants, however, are generally Mahomedans. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



95 



whose haughty dames hardly considered even the 
Great Mogul, when in the height of his power, an 
equal match for them* — how, I say, can he be sup- 
posed capable of stooping to coax and mollify the 
vanity of a man, who, notwithstanding the extreme 
latitude of an Indian durbar,f would be by all sense of 
decency forbidden to sit in his presence? How can 
he be expected to do all this for no other purpose 
than merely to pay a visit of civility to one whose 
acquaintance is after all of little or no moment ? 

On the other part, the Englishman cares little for 
visiting the native, any further than as a matter of 
policy. Hence, from the effects of caste on the one 
side, and from negligence on the other, has arisen 
that lack of intercourse between the English and 
natives, which is so much to be regretted, and which, 
since our dominion in India has been firmly esta- 
blished, has, we regret to say, been on the increase. 
TheMussulmans, who,J some fifty or sixty years back, 
would eat and visit with us, have now completely 
renounced the custom. 

Though natives of distinction are constantly invited 
to the Government-house and to Government f£tes, 

* " The Kanah of Oodeypoor is said to be descended in a right 
line from the Sun without any debasing mixture, having resisted all 
attempts of the Emperors of Delhi to effect an intermarriage of the 
houses. He reckons in his pedigree one or two avatars." — Heber's 
Journal, vol. ii. p. 474. 

+ Every one who comes, even to small farmers and shopkeepers, 
after making their salaam, sit down. — Shore's India, vol. ii. p. 113. 

I See Shore's India, vol. ii.p. 110. 



96 



THE THEORY AND 



though they may be occasionally found at evening 
parties, it is an occurrence of extreme rarity to meet 
them at private entertainments. It must not be sup- 
posed, however, that caste is the only bar to greater in- 
tercourse ; other causes quite as important exist. Pre- 
judices in regard to food, difference in religion and 
language, want of topics of conversation common to 
the two people, may be among the unavoidable causes 
which produce this state of things. But much also 
depends upon our own habits, and our negligence in 
cultivating their acquaintance. The French, who, in 
other respects, left behind them in India a most dis- 
graceful reputation, were, owing to that politeness 
and love of society characteristic of the nation, much 
our superiors in acquiring the confidence of the na- 
tives. Heber relates, that in the Dooab* the rule of 
Perron and Des Boignes was in his day still regretted 
by those who contrasted the sociability of the French 
with the distant manners and repulsive conduct of 
the English. It too often happens that we make 
little or no attempt to conform to the habits of the 
natives ; that we neglect their salutes ; that we know 
or make no difference between our conduct to in- 
dividuals of distinction and to men of no rank ;f that 

* See Journey, vol. iii. p. 337. Generals Perron and Des Boignes 
were employed by Scindia. 

+ In striking contrast with the conduct of Europeans in India was 
that of the Nepaulese princes when in England. They are said to 
have employed an Englishman to explain to them the rank and 
proper method of addressing those persons whom they met. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



97 



we learn Hindostanee from persons of low caste and 
position, and speak it vulgarly. These and other 
drawbacks to our intimate intercourse with the natives 
might be alleged; but they do not fall within our 
present inquiry.* 

* The indigo planters, who are much more particular in these 
points than the officers of Government, are in consequence often 
treated with much greater respect hy the natives. 



K 



98 



THE THEORY AND 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE EFFECTS OF CASTE ON THE MORAL AND RELI- 
GIOUS CHARACTER OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA. 

" The moral effect of the institution of castes is to create prejudices : 
all prejudices are pernicious, yet what human society is without 
them ? " — Richards' India. 

Individuals have, in all ages, tightened the connect- 
ing links of language, kindred, or country, by forming 
themselves into associations, independent of the grand 
community to which they belong. How far such a 
division of society into distinct orders is conducive 
to the moral character of its members, is an in- 
teresting subject for philosophical discussion. In 
India, the system of castes affords a practical, and 
living instance to throw light upon such an investi- 
gation. We there find a people split into sections, 
connected by no sentiments, either of mutual regard 
or of mutual interest ; we find everywhere the entente 
cordiale destroyed, and every social feeling blunted ; 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



99 



and we look in vain for active virtues* These require 
a wide field for their development, and such is wanting 
among a people divided into numberless little circles, 
whose coherence with one another, and with the whole 
mass, is of the feeblest nature. Hence, though the 
moral character of the Hindoos is not deficient in 
goodness, its nature is rather negative than positive — 
a refraining from what is bad, rather than a per- 
formance of what is good. Their virtues are not 
those which arise from the dictates of a good con- 
science, and which impel men to do and suffer every- 
thing in the carrying out in practice what they hold 
good in theory, as a blind, unthinking adherence to 
particular rules, the grounds of which they have 
never doubted, the consequences of which they have 
never examined. Heber's character of them is, " They 
are lively, intelligent, and interesting. The national 
temper is decidedly good, gentle, and kind. They are 
sober, industrious, and affectionate to their relatives, 
faithful to their masters, and easily attached by kind- 
ness ;" and yet he admits that " their morality does not 
extend beyond positive obligations, and where these are 
wanting, they are oppressive, cruel, and treacherous." 

Such is their religious character, measured by 
the Christian standard. It were, indeed, a bootless 
task to compare it with the injunctions of their own 
creed ; to examine whether or not the effect of caste 

* Sir J. Malcolm, Pol. Hist, of India, p. 513, remarks the same of 
our sepoys. " Their virtues," say he, " are more of a passive than an 
active nature." 

LoFC. 



100 



THE THEORY AND 



was to preserve in the people an obedience to the 
dogmas of their Vedas, Shasters, and Puranas, and 
make them, in that sense of the word, religious. 

Let it be sufficient to observe, that whatever it once 
was, or whatever it ought theoretically to be, Hin- 
duism is, and has long been, a mere lifeless heap of 
ceremonies, many of them both unmeaning and de- 
grading, and some possessing a most immoral ten- 
dency. To trace the effects of caste upon such of 
these as have been left entire by our Indian govern- 
ment, were in truth a useless toil. More interesting 
is it to compare its moral effects upon the people at 
large, weighed, as they ought to be, in the Christian 
balance, especially as in this they will be weighed, 
when the absurdities of Hinduism, and the other 
idolatrous systems of India, have yielded, as, doubt- 
less, they will yield, to the enlightening influence of 
Christianity. 

Among the good effects of caste, we have before 
noticed its pleasing influence upon those feelings 
which have reference to the particular social circle 
of each individual. It is there that it shines most 
brightly ; it is there that we might be led to pronounce 
it an excellent institution, did not other considerations 
direct our judgment into another channel. Here, 
however, is one important point on which it exercises 
moral influence on the people ; another we will 
mention. 

The division of Menu is, as we have before said, 
no longer in existence : to this, however, there is some 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



101 



limitation. The other classes, though sometimes 
kept together as castes by the same religious rites, 
are mixed up in civil society; and being under no 
chiefs, except the ordinary magistrates of the country, 
have in the course of ages become confounded. This, 
however, is not altogether the case with a portion of 
the military class. The Rajputs of Rajasthan # pro- 
fess, and are by most considered, to be a portion of 
the Cshatrya. They are born soldiers, divided into 
sections, each of which has its hereditary leader ; and 
their government bears a strong resemblance to the 
feudal constitutions of the middle ages. All are united 
together by the strongest feelings of caste, and of 
military devotion. From this state of things have 
arisen many noble qualities. They are guided by 
rules of honour of a very high order, which they hold 
it disgraceful to violate. Their land has ever been 
the focus of Indian chivalry, the home of Hindoo 
heroes. They treat their women with a respect 
unusual in the East, and in return are civilized and 
polished by their influence. They are noted for their 
lofty ideas of independence. They indulge in no pro- 
strations. Soortan, one of their chiefs, when con- 
quered, would not bend, even to Aurangzib. They 
are more especially noted for their gratitude, and 
faithful adherence to their word. " I am a Rajput — 
how can I deceive you?" is the expostulation they 
will offer to those who doubt their honour. 

* See Tod's Kajasthan. Elphinstone's India, p. 312. The Ayeen 
Akberry asserts (vol. ii. p. 377), that the Eajpoots are of the 
Cshatrya. 



102 



THE THEORY AND 



Yet among these men, caste shows one of its dark- 
est features. With them the pride of birth is carried 
to an extravagant pitch. Their hills defended them 
from foreign invaders. Revolutions which swept away 
successive races of kings and nobles from the plain of 
Indostan, never affected them. Their blood, the 
purest in the East, flowed through generations of 
princes ; from heroes who once ruled on earth, but 
now in heaven. The chiefs, for example, of Marwar, 
exult in a line of ancestors who for 1,300 years held 
sway in Canouge, and could at any time bring half a 
million of soldiers to the field. The descendants of 
such men hesitate to marry their daughters to low- 
born Hindoos of ambiguous caste. Husbands of fitting 
rank and condition cannot always be found ; and the 
Rajputs escaped the dilemma by the crime of infan- 
ticide. Their female children were, at one time, 
nearly all put to death. In fact, the Jharejas of 
Cutch, by the intricate regulations of caste peculiar 
to themselves, were placed in such a position that 
they could not find an individual with whom a 
daughter of theirs could be suitably matched. Hence, 
at one time, all were destroyed. Of late, however, 
this custom has been for the most part abolished; its 
relinquishment being insisted upon, as one of the terms 
on which they were to be considered British allies. 

Caste, again, has had an ameliorating effect upon the 
character of Hindoo slavery. In Ceylon,* the Covia, 



* See Slavery and the Slave Trade, from official sources, pp. 6, 58, &c. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



103 



Nallua, and Palla castes are all slaves ; the same is the 
case with the Puncham and Bundam castes in Mysore 
and the Carnatic. In Malabar, and in some of the 
northern provinces, there are praedial slaves, like the 
serfs of Russia, attached to the soil. In general, how- 
ever, slavery is a condition entirely independent of 
caste. The Sudras, # though placed by the code of 
Menu in the most contemptible position, are by no 
means considered as " ascripti gleha" Domestic slavery, 
however, has always existed in India. Recent regu- 
lations of the supreme government have, we are aware, 
made it unlawful, and have in consequence done much 
towards its abolition. The mind of the Asiatic, f how- 
ever, does not possess that indomitable spirit of freedom 
which characterizes European nations. The careless, 
easy subsistence, which attends the mild species of 
slavery in general prevalent in the East, is preferred 
by the indigent to the precarious life of freedom indeed, 
but often of starvation. The abolition of slavery will 
be a work of time. Orders of council may have 
destroyed many of its cruelties, but they have not 
effected its annihilation. It is still everywhere pre- 
valent, but in a form, so mild, " that a stranger might 
reside in the country for fifty years, and unless he 
made inquiry, he would probably not have an idea 

* Elphinstone, p. 185. 

+ The case of the Cappadocians, who preferred despotism to a liberal 
constitution, offered them by the Eomans, will readily occur to the 
classical reader. 



104 THE THEORY AND 

that slavery existed, so little is there to meet the 
eye." # 

Its causes are various. In some cases crime, or 
inability to defray a debt, have subjected individuals to 
perpetual servitude. Many voluntarily sell themselves 
to obtain the means of subsistence. Others are home- 
born, or are children sold by their parents during a 
time of famine, or in consequence of some domestic 
calamity. Many were formerly enslaved by Thugs, 
who had previously destroyed their parents ; or were 
kidnapped by the Banjaras, a tribe of wandering 
herdsmen, who convey corn from one part of the 
country to another, and are, in short, the corn-factors 
of India. The Gosains,f a species of hermit, deal 
largely in this traffic, purchasing children, especially 
those of the higher castes, primarily for the purpose of 
rearing them as disciples, or in default of their evincing 
any aptitude for such a life, they are sold to others. 

It is obvious, then, that men of every caste, may in a 
native state become slaves. Hence, men of high caste 
not unfrequently are in servitude to those of lower 
rank, whose religious feelings induce them to honour 
and assist, rather than injure and oppress them. How 
materially must their condition be ameliorated by the 
prevalence of such opinions ! 

In the Himalayah mountains,^ for instance, if a 

* See Elphintone, p. 185. " Domestic slavery in a mild form is 
almost universal." — See also Campbell's India, p. 70. 
+ See Slavery and the Slave Trade in India. 
J Shore's Notes on India, vol. ii. p. 404. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



105 



man have an only daughter and a slave, provided he 
be of good caste, it is not at all uncommon for him to 
give the slave his daughter in marriage, and at his death 
to leave him all his property. Such a transaction, 
though by no means unusual in the East, is one which 
but few Europeans (notwithstanding the boasted 
liberality of our sentiments) would be disposed to 
imitate. 

It is a question whether slavery in India was ever 
sanctioned by British law. By the Mahometan code, 
which, in most cases, is ordered to be observed in our 
courts of justice, slaves are subject to many disqualifi- 
cations. Their evidence is inadmissible ; they cannot 
buy, sell, or inherit ; they are ineligible to any civil 
office. Yet the practice in India among Mahometans, 
even before the English rule, had long been at variance 
with the law. Kindness shown to slaves, but above 
all their manumission, have ever been considered acts 
of piety. In India, as in all countries subject to the 
crescent, it was no uncommon thing for slaves to rise 
to the highest offices of state, and even to that of vizier, 
or prime minister.* 

Much of this gentle nature of Hindoo slavery is 
doubtless to be attributed to the very modified form in 
which it has always prevailed among the professors of 

* Sebektegin, and his master Alptegin, the founder of the house of 
Ghazni, are well known instances. See Elphinstone, p. 273. — The 
custom of the Mamlukes on this point is notorious. The same exists, 
though in a less degree, throughout the whole of Turkey. — See Gen. 
Kegnier's " State of Egypt after the Battle of Heliopolis" p. 31, far 
some very pertinent remarks on this subject. 



106 



THE THEORY AND 



El Islam, the conquerors of India who have best 
amalgamated with the native inhabitants. Yet much, 
too, is to be attributed to those sentiments, arising from 
caste, which are constantly placing the slave and his 
master on the same level, and sometimes disturbing, 
and even reversing their civil grades. 

With regard to many Hindoo customs, repugnant 
to European sentiments, it has ever been the policy 
of our Indian Government to sap the foundations 
on which they rest, and yet to avoid, as much as 
possible, any direct legislation on the subject. Such 
has been the case with slavery. They found it every- 
where prevalent, but in general it was of the pa- 
triarchal character, so gentle and lenient as rarely 
to gall the feelings or rouse indignation. Their 
zenanas and harems were its strongholds. An invasion 
of the sanctity of these would have been productive 
of the most awful consequences to the morals and 
habits of the people. It was rife in the army. To 
extinguish it there would have alienated from us the 
affections of the whole native force. " I know," said 
the Duke of Wellington, in a discussion on this 
subject — " I know, that in the hut of every Mussulman 
soldier in the Indian army, there is a female slave 
who accompanies him in all his marches, and I would 
recommend your Lordships to deal lightly with this 
matter, if you wish to retain your sovereignty in 
India." No wonder, then, that the measures of our 
Indian Government with regard to slavery were 
marked with the most extreme caution. It was 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



107 



fostered by the Bramins ; it was necessary to their 
temple ritual; it was blended with every religious 
ceremony which was held most sacred. A rash in- 
terference with these, would have raised a tornado of 
popular indignation, which might have swept us from 
the peninsula, and arrested for many an age the 
progress of that enlightenment and civilization which 
we are gradually introducing. 

Hardly ten years have elapsed since the subject 
of slavery was forced upon the notice of the British 
public by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery 
Society. Among its grossest features then so mer- 
cilessly exposed, was the trade* in slaves, which was 
carried on, not merely from one part of the Company's 
possessions to another, but even with foreign countries, 
especially with the Arabs of the Straits of Mozam- 
bique, and the eastern coast of Africa, and the pirates 
of Malaya. This abominable traffic, as horrible in 
its character and results as that between the western 
coast of Africa and America, was immediately pro- 
nounced illegal, and vigorously repressed. Domestic 
slavery it was not thought prudent openly and dis- 
tinctly to abolish, but all civil disqualifications arising 
from it were quietly removed. Slavery has at present 
no legal existence in India, though probably from 
the indirect method by which it was abolished, the 
majority of the natives are unacquainted with the 
fact. The general tenor of our administration, by 
weakening and rendering ambiguous the title to all 

* Slavery and the Slave Trade, p. 29. 



108 



THE THEORY AND 



such property, is everywhere adverse to slavery. 
Masters feel their power gone, and domestic servitude, 
without any disturbance or evil effects, is being quietly 
extinguished throughout the whole of the Company's 
possessions. 

But to return to our subject. There is another 
point in which the moral influence of caste is con- 
spicuous, and on which we must dwell. In India, 
as in England, a maris caste is his character, and in 
both countries it will often be lost by crime. The 
Hindoos, though their religion may have an immoral 
tendency — though our courts of justice may disclose 
scenes of violence and wrong, which but ill accord 
with their ordinarily passive spirit, and their gentle 
and polished address, which has ever made them 
objects of sympathy and interest — are on the whole 
a virtuous nation. In large towns, where they have 
mixed much with Europeans, they have gained our 
vices without acquiring our virtues ; and too often 
exhibit themselves in our courts of law as the tools of 
perjury and forgery. In remote villages,* however, 
they are innocent, temperate, and honest; and the 
transgression of most of even our moral laws, would 
draw down upon them the indignation of their caste. 
Though the disadvantages of being an outcast have 
been probably much exaggerated, yet still it brings 
with it, in the parts of India least affected by 
European influence,*!* a certain amount of moral 

* Pamphlet by the celebrated Baboo Earn Mohun Koy. 

+ Caste may be regained in some cases and places more easily than 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



109 



punishment. In this way, caste elevates the morals 
of the people. 

We must not omit to draw attention to the fact, of 
caste and superstition acting and reacting upon one another. 
It is superstition which guarantees the existence of 
the arbitrary divisions of Hindoo society. On the 
other hand, it is caste, entering with its minute 
injunctions into every act of life, and enthralling the 
spirit of mental freedom, which has for so long a 
period aided in sinking the Hindoos in superstition, 
as abject and unmeaning as that of many nations, 
their inferiors in refinement. This will appear the 
more remarkable when we consider that, from the 
earliest times, they have enjoyed many of the advan- 
tages of civilization — its learning, its liberality of 
feeling, and its encouragement to improvement and 
progress in thought and ideas, as well as in arts and 
sciences. When we consider, moreover, that there 
have resided among them for more than a century 
thousands of Europeans, eager to sow the seeds of 
nobler sentiments. 

Of all the singular anomalies to which superstition 
has been found to give rise, religious mendicity, and 
the honour paid to sanctified beggars, bears the palm. 
We have previously noticed the character of the 
fakirs, yogis, and bairagees, who, covered with sores, 
and smeared with cow dung, wander from village 

in others. In the neighbourhood of Calcutta, for instance, a feast 
reinstates a person in the good graces of his caste, unless his trans- 
gression be of a more than ordinarily deep dye. 



110 



THE THEORY AND 



to village ; or stand in the same position, until their 
limbs and muscles have lost their proper shape, and 
plants have sprung up and mantled them with vege- 
tation. In addition to these, crowds of sturdy beggars, 
in general members of some one of the religious 
castes, parade the country, and extort a plentiful 
subsistence, from the united effects of compassion, 
fear, and superstition. Every village has its separate 
bands. They may be seen each day roaming from 
house to house, and extorting their customary handful 
of rice, or other present, from the poor Ryot, with a 
regularity and insolent importunity worthy of the 
mendicant friars of the middle ages. It has been 
calculated that no less than one eighth of the in- 
habitants of Bengal and Behar, or about two millions, 
subsist in this manner ; and cannot levy less than 
two or three millions sterling from the wretched 
Ryots.* 

Of the religious duties of the Bramins and some 
other castes, begging is the most conspicuous. It is 
a duty incumbent upon all who aim at distinguished 
sanctity, to make mendicity the only source of their 
subsistence. No land has been assigned to them, 
either by the Hindoos or the Moslems : they are pro- 
fessed beggars. f The youthful Bramin, as soon as 
invested with the poita or cotton thread of his order, 
asks alms of his parents and the surrounding company. 
Deep is his degradation when forced to betake himself 
to an honest trade. The Bramin, like his congeners 
* Ward's Hindoos. + Ibid. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



Ill 



in name the sacred bulls, passes a life of dignified ease. 
The drone of society, he lives from his neighbours 
store, and looks down with contempt on those who 
obtain an honest livelihood by their industry.* The 
Veda Bramins of Bengal, who live by explaining the 
Veda, and by begging, despise those of Orissa or the 
Cuttack, who live by commerce or agriculture, and 
the former alone are held in estimation by the pious 
Hindoo. 

The method by which the Bramin gains his liveli- 
hood is continually placing him in the most ambiguous 
and false positions ; but he sticks at no methods of 
accomplishing his purposes, and upholding his influ- 
ence^ Without shame he will employ the basest 
means of attaining his ends,J and is, as one of their 
members graphically described them to Abbe Dubois, 
" an ant's nest of lies and impostures." Yet, not- 
withstanding, they still retain their influence with the 
people. 

It would be excessively difficult to determine from 
what feeling of the human mind respect for religious 
mendicancy, which is not by any means peculiar to 
India, though there carried to the highest pitch, can 
arise. Its existence, however, for any length of time 
depends, we are apt to think, upon superstition on the 
one part, and the absence of a public opinion on 

* Asiatic Kesearches, Vol. xv. p. 198. 

+ Several acts of the Indian Government have now considerably re- 
pressed mendicancy. 
I E. g. Sitting Durnha. 



112 



THE THEORY AND 



the other. These, we imagine, are the two causes of 
its prevalence in India. The latter, viz., the want of 
public opinion, is the direct offspring of caste, whilst 
superstition is very materially upheld by the same in- 
stitution. 

In the first place, it was superstition which gave re- 
ligious mendicants their power, and for ages it has 
been the same cause which has supported it. The 
Bramins themselves flocked round the hearths of the 
great, who took a pride in supporting them. It was 
on the rich rather than the poor that they lived. In 
later times our government, by its levelling and equa- 
lizing power, has impoverished the majority of the rich 
Hindoo families ; the Bramins, in consequence, now 
gain their chief subsistence from the poor, and are be- 
ginning to be felt as an incubus upon the villages. 
Superstition, however, still has its power. The press 
and public opinion, which in Europe would destroy 
or limit their exactions, is practically powerless. The 
former is nearly confined to Europeans and the native 
chiefs, whilst the latter hardly exists. Among a simple 
and prejudiced people, where the lines of demarcation 
between the different classes of society are drawn 
strong, sharp, and unbending, no universality of 
opinion can possibly prevaiL 

We should not omit a peculiarity, which has been 
remarked in the character of Bramins, men of the 
highest caste, and in Mussulman families of great con- 
sideration, among whom the pride of family produces 
the same effect as caste, whilst in some cases this, 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



113 



together with other Hindoo customs, has been adopted. 
Such men are always found either of the most excel- 
lent character, or guilty of the most audacious crimes. 
They always fly to the greatest extremes, and are 
either very good or very bad.* 

Another singularity, too, attaches itself to these 
classes. When a European who is within the pale 
of respectability is tempted to be guilty of anything 
which those of his own standing would consider mean 
and disgraceful, he usually endeavours to conceal his 
actions, or at any rate to disguise them under false pre- 
tences. This is not the case with the individuals just 
mentioned. f They will be guilty of the most disgrace- 
ful acts, without attempting in the slightest degree to 
hide, justify, or palliate them ; and that, too, in matters 
which it would not be difficult to conceal. They ap- 
pear as if they were wholly indifferent as to how their 
character stood with the world. This is a peculiarity 
for which it is extremely difficult to account. Some 
have referred it to the recklessness arising from a 
continued course of profligacy, others to the supposi- 
tion that they consider themselves placed by their 
rank, situation, and caste, completely above all scandal. 
To this explanation we would incline from the follow- 
ing considerations. 

Among the lower classes, the loss of caste, what- 
ever it might have been formerly, is now but a trifling 
inconvenience. A man does certain things for which 
his friends and relations refuse to eat with him, until 

* Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 185. + Ibid., Vol. ii. p. 184. 

I 



114 



THE THEORY AND 



he has given a grand entertainment, after which he 
is again received on his former footing. If, owing to 
personal pique or malice, this fails, unless his crime be 
of a very disgraceful character, he readily finds another 
caste willing to receive him. Among the higher 
classes, however, greater dignity is preserved. Caste, 
if actually lost, is not easily regained, but its for- 
feiture very rarely occurs. Men of undoubted rank 
care little about these things ; mutual forbearance is 
very largely practised, " dant veniam corvis." " These 
absurdities," said a Bramin, who had served up a 
meal to an Englishman on his (the Bramin's) own 
dishes, " are very well for the ignorant low castes to 
make a fuss about, but any man of sense knows that a 
little sand and water purifies metal dishes from any 
stain." * If a person of high rank happen to become 
an outcast, there is no grade of equal respectability to 
that of his own into which he can enrol himself. For 
the opinion of his inferiors he cares nothing ; in fact, 
theoretically, it is presumption, almost amounting to a 
crime, for a Sudra to entertain an opinion relative to 
the actions of men of the superior classes. From all 
these causes, a bad man, whose innate feelings of 
right and wrong are blunted, and who has stifled 
those pangs of conscience which, in the case of a good 
man committing sin, are the most terrific of all punish- 
ments, has nothing to control his conduct. There is 
no reason then for him to exhibit any mawkish sen- 
sibility, and throw a veil over those deeds, the credit 
* Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 477. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



115 



of which he feels will never affect him with injury or 
uneasiness. 

In regard to the character of the Braminical caste, 
we will notice a further peculiarity : one of the popular 
Hindoo mantras, or forms of prayer, commences with 
the following confession of faith : — " All the universe is 
under the power of the gods ; the gods are subject to the 
power of the mantras ; the mantras are under the power 
of the Bramins ; the Bramins are, therefore, our gods." 
In accordance with this, the Bramin has a consciousness 
of his own excellence that never forsakes him, but 
enables him to support his rank under all circum- 
stances of life. Whether rich or poor, in prosperity 
or adversity, he regulates himself continually by the 
sentiment which tells him that he is the most perfect 
of all created things ; that he is the very god of his 
race ; that, whatever be his condition, other men are 
infinitely beneath him ; that there is nothing on earth 
at all comparable with his own well-ordered customs 
and usages. The structure of society, of course, 
forbids any general display of these sentiments. There 
are not wanting instances, however, of this over- 
weening idea of their rank having been actually carried 
into practice. The cynical pride and independence 
of Diogenes was surpassed in the distant East. Greek 
authors relate that fifteen Bramin ascetics scorned an 
invitation to go and converse with Alexander, and 
bade the Macedonian hero come himself and visit 
them. 

Perhaps we shall be enabled to form a clearer con- 



116 



THE THEORY AND 



ception of the benefits which caste has conferred upon 
the people of India, if we pause for a moment to con- 
sider what, in all probability, would have been their 
condition if unaffected by its existence. The peculiar 
character of the climate, the general fertility of the 
soil, the facility with which the necessaries of life are 
obtained, would relax the energies of the most active 
race of men, and produce that indolent disposition 
which distinguishes the inhabitants of the tropics. 
Harassed by perpetual invasions, with her society 
rent by successive revolutions, and every avenue to 
power, and every inducement to exertion taken away s 
her people would have indulged the inclinations 
which their climate engendered, and would have sunk 
into the lowest barbarism. This has been, in a con- 
siderable degree, the case with the Pariahs ; the fact 
of their residence among a civilized people having 
scarcely at all operated to its prevention. They are 
exempt from the regulations of caste ; they are free 
from all those restrictions of honour and shame, which 
are dependent upon them. They have, in conse- 
quence, abandoned themselves, without reserve, to 
the indulgence of all their vile propensities. There is 
no fear of exclusion from the society of honourable 
men to restrain them from the commission of every 
excess. Aware that they have nothing to gain or lose 
in the esteem of their superiors, they give themselves 
up, without shame or scruple, to every description of 
vice. # Hence, they have become in appearance gross 

* Dubois, p. 459. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



117 



and sensual. They are addicted to drunkenness, 
gluttony, and the foulest feeding. In the south of 
India they may be seen disputing with the birds of 
prey for the carrion and garbage which is thrown 
forth from the cities. Such are the Pariahs in districts 
of Southern India, in which they are numerous. 
Wretches more abominable or disgusting, it would be 
scarcely possible to imagine. 

Without doubt there have been other causes which 
have promoted civilization among the Hindoos. It is 
obvious, however, that the fact of an employment or 
profession being imposed upon every individual, must 
have materially counteracted that tendency to in- 
activity which is engendered by a warm climate, and 
must have prevented the people from retrograding in 
the march of improvement. 

Again, it has been the influence of this artificial 
order which makes a community feel the faults of one 
member as reflecting disgrace on the whole, as long 
as they remain unpunished, which has tended to the 
preservation of good morals. Each caste is obliged 
to take justice into its own hands, for the purpose of 
avenging its honour, and restraining within the bounds 
of good order the individuals who compose it. Besides 
flagrant infractions of moral laws, such as drunken- 
ness, adultery, and the like, there are many other 
faults of a scandalous nature, of which caste takes 
cognizance, and which, as not being infractions of civil 
laws, would otherwise escape unpunished. These in 
western nations are repressed by the power of public 



118 



THE THEORY AND 



opinion ; by the voice of public indignation. In 
India they fall under the cognizance of a man's caste, 
and are, perhaps, more quietly and conveniently 
punished by the fiat of a section of society, than by 
the tardy sentence of the whole. 

So great has been the influence of caste upon the 
morals of the people, that it has successfully coun- 
terbalanced the evil effects of a religion which encou- 
rages vice and depravity. It has rendered the general 
sentiments of the people strongly in favour of morality, 
although all the ceremonies of their worship have a 
precisely contrary tendency. Although in too many 
cases its authority is employed in animadverting on 
frivolous rites, rather than in extirpating real crimes., 
for which a culpable indulgence may be sometimes 
shown, yet its general effect has been, as we have 
before remarked, to preserve among the natives a 
morality, in many cases of a very high order. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



119 



CHAPTER V. 

CASTE AS IT AFFECTS THE CONVERSION OF THE 
HINDOOS TO CHRISTIANITY. 

" Souvent la sagesse supreme 

Pour chasser le demon se sert du demon meme." 

Boileau, Ep. 12. 

It is in reference to its supposed effects on retarding 
the conversion of the Hindoos to Christianity, that 
caste has of late attracted the attention of Europeans. 
For about fifty years our missionaries have laboured 
with devoted assiduity to spread the Gospel in India, 
and yet it remains a Pagan country. This too, 
although of late we have been masters of the whole 
peninsula, and our missionaries have enjoyed many 
advantages, which of necessity arise from that circum- 
stance. Though they have been of a nation, which 
for power, enterprise, and learning, have, above all 
other Europeans in the East, a prestige and celebrity, 
yet at this moment, of the one hundred and twenty 
millions at least, or as some will have it, the two 



120 



THE THEORY AND 



hundred millions who own our sway, perhaps (Euro- 
peans inclusive) not one hundred and twenty thousand 
are Protestant Christians even in name. * We speak 
not of the nations of converts, made in times past by 
the sword of the Portuguese and the fighting priests 
of King John.f We speak not of those converted 
by the followers of Loyola, by forging a Veda assimi- 
lating Christianity to the superstitions of every sect 
in India and China, and so degrading our sacred 
religion as to draw down the especial indignation of 
even the Pope himself. We speak not of them. They 
sowed, they emphatically sowed the wind, and they 
reaped the whirlwind. As is their wont, they med- 
dled with political events. They were expelled from 
the country, and with the exception of the missions 
of Madura in the South of India — which appear to 
have always existed in a flourishing state, and which 
we propose hereafter noticing — but few of their con- 
verts, such as they were, are to be found in India. 
They returned to heathendom as soon as the efficient 
cause of their profession was withdrawn. 

To account for the indifferent success which has 
attended our own missionary enterprise in Indostan, 
it has been too long the custom to adduce the in- 
superable obstacles to conversion presented by caste. 
Europeans, as we have before remarked, have gained 

* The Reports of the Calcutta and Madras Bible Societies lay the 
number at the close of 1851 at 103,154. 

f Cardinal Enrique was another Portuguese monarch who gave 
great encouragement to forced conversions. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



121 



their notions of its character from publications, de- 
rived from the comments of Pundits and the code of 
Menu, rather than from unprejudiced accounts of the 
existing state of society in India. Viewing it through 
the medium of these, they have formed an exagge- 
rated idea of the opposition, which it, directly or 
indirectly, offers to the spread of Christianity. We 
propose, then to consider — 

First, — What appear to have been the chief obstacles 
to the conversion of the Hindoos, and how far they are 
affected by caste ? 

Secondly, — Whether caste does not, in some respects, 
pave the way for Christianity ? 

First. — Of the causes which have operated against 
the conversion of the Hindoos, we may notice, espe- 
cially, the inadequacy of the means employed. 

In the first place, until lately, the small number of 
our missionaries. We very rarely conceive a correct 
idea of the magnitude of our Indian empire, and of 
the myriads of human beings which it contains. In 
size, including the countries under its influence, it is 
not much less than the whole of Europe, and nearly 
as thickly peopled. Its inhabitants — distributed in 
twenty-four provinces, speaking thirteen polished lan- 
guages — present the same diversity in appearance, 
character, religion and manners as do Europeans. 
They are, and have long been, a civilized people. 
Though neither so energetic, nor so cultivated as our- 
selves, there are some particulars, as for instance, in 
the facility with which they apply their mind to mathe- 



122 



THE THEORY AND 



matics and the exact sciences, in which they are 
undeniably superior to the generality of Europeans.* 

What striking effect can we expect that eight or 
ten missionaries, imperfectly acquainted with the 
language and customs of even one of the many nations 
which constitute our Eastern empire, could produce 
upon the opinions and religion of masses, so numerous 
and so wide-spread 1 Yet, for many years, this was 
precisely the state of things in India. At this present 
moment, notwithstanding the efforts made on all sides 
in aid of Christian missions, four hundred would cover 
the number of Europeans actively engaged in spread- 
ing the Gospel in Indostan. f Many years must 
necessarily elapse before a number of missionaries, 
comparatively so limited, can materially affect the 
opinions of so many millions of human beings. 
Though none but the ordinary prejudices of heathens 
opposed their exertions, it cannot be a subject of 
astonishment that success, strikingly remarkable, has 
not attended efforts so inadequate to the results 
contemplated. 

The fact, too, of our missionaries having chiefly ad- 
dressed themselves to the lower classes, has especially 
militated against their cause, in a country, in which, 
more than anywhere else, the lower ranks respect the 
higher, and the higher despise the lower. In India, 
as in every other part of the world, the vulgar appre- 
ciate the value of an opinion, according to the idea 

* See Campbell's Modern India, p. 60. 

+ See Calcutta Review for Sept. 1851, p. 241. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



123 



which they form of the merit of those who embrace 
it. Hence the most certain method of converting a 
people is to gain over their men of influence and 
respectability. 

The success of humble instruments among the 
lower orders in the first spread of Christianity, are, 
we are aware, the objects imitated. Comparisons of 
this sort are often fallacious. Not to dwell upon the 
fact, that the poor of India are far from being in 
the same circumstances as the poor of Jerusalem, or 
some Roman province, our missionaries overstrain the 
analogy which they derive from the first Apostles, 
who, as well as their converts, were often persons of 
humble station. They forget the miraculous powers 
which they possessed, and which of themselves well 
account for the rapid progress of our religion during 
the first century of the Christian era. It cannot be 
asserted that those who are now engaged in propa- 
gating the Gospel, experience miraculous interpositions 
as obvious and incontrovertible as those which at- 
tended the ministry of the Apostles. It does not follow, 
that if miracles had been denied, the Apostles would 
have adopted precisely the same course which they 
did. 

It is true the poor were to have the Gospel 
preached to them. It was to be their privilege, how- 
ever, not their monopoly. The Apostles preached 
with energy and success to the poor ; but they never 
confined themselves to that class. If we examine the 
accounts of their labours, we shall find that there are 



124 



THE THEORY AND 



many instances of their addressing themselves to the 
rich and powerful. 

Philip is sent on a special message, not to a poor 
man of little cultivation and limited capacity, but to 
the prime minister of an Abyssinian queen. Paul 
gets an introduction to the proconsul of Cyprus. It 
is not with slaves that he ordinarily associates. He 
converts the head of a family, and as a consequence 
baptizes his household, i. e., his family and servants. 
At Thessalonica he lives with Jason, a man of con- 
sideration, whose house is assaulted by the mob. At 
Athens he disputes, not with paltry mechanics, whose 
ideas had never extended beyond the routine of their 
trade, but with philosophers, Epicureans and Stoics. 
From other sources we know pretty well what was the- 
character of these. They might not always be rich; 
but they were not Pariahs and slaves. At Corinth, the 
chief men of the Jews are his hosts. At Ephesus, a cer- 
tain of the chief of Asia" are his friends. We find 
throughout the whole of his Epistles the same un- 
designed indications of the respectability of those with 
whom he associated. The same may be predicated 
of the other Apostles. # Why, then, should our mis- 
sionaries in India have confined themselves, as they 
have done, so exclusively to the lowest castes, especially 
when the impolicy of it has been so evident, and the 
want of success among the lower orders so notorious? 
We are aware that the ready answer will be given, 

* Many more proofs that the Apostles in general addressed them- 
selves first to the powerful and influential might be brought forward. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



125 



that great difficulty has been experienced in gaining 
access to the higher classes. This may have been the 
case with those who, previous to addressing them- 
selves to persons of respectability, have been in the 
habit of associating with the lower orders. We have 
reason to conclude, that when missionaries have at 
the first outset made their appeal to the leading men 
among the natives, such as their Rajahs, their learned 
pundits, or high-caste Bramins, a repulse has rarely 
been received.* 

As another cause which has retarded the progress 
of conversion, must be noticed the injudicious conduct 
of many of our Indian missionaries. The tide has now, 
for many years, run strongly in favour of almost every 
attempt to disseminate Christianity, from whatever 
quarter it may proceed, and without much inquiry into 
its probable results. In attempting conversions there 
has been exhibited more eagerness than discretion. In 
endeavouring to attain their object, missionaries have 
trusted too much to the efficacy of startling addresses, 
and to their power of refuting the arguments alleged 
in support of idolatry. They have neglected the 
minor requisites of success, and have thus often failed 
altogether. 

Coming to India, with but a limited knowledge of 
its history, its customs, manners, and peculiar points 
of faith, they have false ideas of the simplicity and 
character of the people. They have regarded them 
more as semi-savages, than as a nation that was highly 
* E. g. Schwartz, the Jesuits, &c. 



126 



THE THEORY AND 



civilized when their own ancestors were but painted 
barbarians. Eager to commence their ministry, they 
have not waited to make themselves acquainted with 
the habits and language of the people, but preach and 
discuss the mysteries of religion with those to whom 
they have easiest access. These are the peasants and 
villagers : poor ignorant men of low caste, whose 
thoughts never soared beyond their daily wants, and 
the performance of a few simple ceremonies. 

From such they learn to speak a vulgar dialect of 
the language, and to pronounce it with a vulgar 
accent. Nothing is more offensive than this to the 
high-caste Hindoo. With them, as with us, propriety 
of language is a mark of good breeding and of good 
society. It is, if possible, even of much greater 
importance, as a mark of caste. How can a man of 
high class submit to be taught by one, whose lan- 
guage and manners betray him as the companion of 
men of the lowest rank ? In fact, he is viewed in 
nearly the same light as they are, and a man of high 
caste may even lose it by associating with him. It 
cannot be surprising that such a one makes but few 
converts. Very different has been the conduct of 
those who have been the most successful missionaries 
in India. Francis Xavier addressed himself almost 
exclusively to the higher castes. In a few years he 
planted churches in every country in the East. His 
proselytes are said to have been reckoned, not by 
thousands, but by millions. 

It is in the southern part of India that the greatest 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



127 



number of native Christians, Protestant as well as 
Ronianist, are now found. A recent account of the 
Jesuit mission at Madura, lays the number of Roman 
Catholic converts there at one hundred and twenty 
thousand.* The founder of this church was the illus- 
trious Fra dei Nobili. On his arrival in India he 
found affairs in a state similar to that of the Protes- 
tant missions at the beginning of the present century. 
By eating beef and drinking wine the Portuguese 
missionaries were held in contempt. As is still the 
case with our own missionaries, by holding too fa- 
miliar communication with Pariahs, by hiring them 
as servants, and by using indiscriminately the same 
dishes, there was raised an insurmountable barrier to 
their intercourse with Hindoos of respectability. The 
natives shrunk from embracing a religion, which in- 
volved such social difficulties. 

Nobili resolved to strike at the root of this evil. 
" Like St. Paul," said he, " I will become a Hin- 
doo to save these Hindoos, making myself all to 
all, to win all to Christ." After several years of 
study and preparation, with his superior's consent, he 
presented himself to the Bramins. He declared (what 
was strictly true, for he was the nephew of Car- 
dinal Bellarmine) that he was not a Portuguese, 
but a Roman Rajah or noble, and a Suniassi or peni- 
tent, who had renounced the world and its enjoy- 
ments. As such he was clad in a peculiar dress, 
associated with Bramins alone, dwelt in the Bramini- 

* Father Strickland's Jesuit in India, p. 32, et seq. 



128 



THE THEORY AND 



cal quarter of the city, and bore a string, similar to 
the sacred zenaar. Like them, too, he buried himself 
in prayer and solitude, and rapidly acquired so wide- 
spread a character for sanctity, that all who met him, 
joining their hands above their heads, bowed to him 
as they would to a Bramin of the highest caste. 

His first convert was no ignorant Pariah, but a 
Gourou or priest, who, after a discussion of twenty 
days, embraced Christianity. He was quickly joined 
by others of the highest castes. The example of these 
was imitated by the people at large ; and Nobili lived 
to see, as the reward for forty-five years of missionary 
toil, a church in every town of importance in the 
South of India. 

Nobili considered that the Bramins looked upon 
caste and its distinctions merely as marks of their 
nobility; that as such they might retain them even 
when converted. So clear and forcible was his expla- 
nation of this matter, that Gregory XV., by a Papal 
bull, sanctioned the regulations in reference to caste 
which he had established in the churches of India.* Be- 
nedict XIV., carrying out the same policy still further, 
constituted a separate class of missionaries for the 
Pariahs, f 

Europeans, owing to their first settlements having 
been made to the south of the peninsula, early became 

* He separated the castes in churches. His method at first gave 
great scandal in Europe. It was sanctioned by a bull in 1621. See 
Eanke's Hist, of Popes, p. 251, and Juvencii Historia Soc. Jesu, &c. 

+ Jesuit in India, p. 65. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



129 



acquainted with these unfortunate creatures. It was 
their wretched condition which first gave western 
nations an exaggerated idea of the horrors of being an 
outcast, and the fearful crimes which resulted from 
the institutions of Hindoo caste. As was the case with 
that singular race, the Cagots of southern France and 
the Pyrenees, they are treated with the most un- 
mitigated contempt. The withering disgust with 
which the American regards the Negro is as nothing 
compared with that in which the Pariahs are held by 
the haughty Nayrs and Polygars of Malabar. This, 
however, is far from being the general condition of 
persons who have lost caste throughout the rest of 
India. In fact, it would appear that Europeans are 
incorrect in calling the Pariahs outcasts,* inasmuch as 
they have never at any time been possessed of caste. 
They bear every mark of being a nation, whom their 
Hindoo masters having conquered reduced to the most 
degrading servitude. 

Be this as it may, to have any intercourse with 
them, especially to visit them in their huts, was to 
become an object of universal detestation. If a mis- 
sionary had done so, it was in vain that he afterwards 
addressed himself to the higher classes. To the con- 
version of this despised race some of the Jesuit fathers 
devoted themselves. Separating themselves entirely, 
even from their brethren in the same country, they 
endured all the privations imposed on Pariahs. One 
missionary might be seen, moving about on horseback, 

* See Jesuit in India, p. 20. 

K 



130 



THE THEORY AND 



or in a palanquin, eating rice dressed by Bramins, and 
saluting no one as he passed. Another covered with 
rags walked on foot surrounded by beggars, and pros- 
trated himself as his brother missionary passed, cover- 
ing his mouth, lest his breath should infect the teacher 
of the great. 

The effects of this twofold system of missions, which, 
as no longer essential, is now entirely discontinued, 
were most wonderful. In 1748 it is estimated that 
there were nearly one million native Romanists in 
Malabar and Coromandel, besides many flourishing 
missions in the north of Indostan. # The Island of 
Ceylon is said to have been so completely Roman 
Catholic when it came into the possession of the 
Dutch, that, unable to convert the natives to Calvinism, 
they took measures to promote idolatry. In that 
selfish spirit of monopoly which disgraced all their 
transactions in the East, from the massacre of Am- 
boyna downwards, they are said to have sent to the 
mainland for priests to re-establish Buddhism. 

We have been thus diffuse on the subject of the 
Roman Catholic missions in India because, with the 
most limited means, they have had the most signal 
success.f The measures which they have adopted in 

• Father Strickland's Jesuit in India, p. 66. 

+ The missionaries manage to live and clothe themselves on one 
shilling per day ! Though there are sixty-two Europeans employed, 
and many churches to repair, and endless lawsuits to undertake, the 
whole mission at Madura only costs 1,500Z. per annum ! See Strick- 
land's Jesuit in India, p. 216. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



131 



regard to caste have materially contributed to this. 
We are aware that there are many other causes ; that 
the pomp and ceremony of the Roman Catholic religion, 
the use of images, the assumed power of working 
miracles, imposing processions, accompanied with the 
beating of gongs and all the paraphernalia which 
attend the car of Kali or Shiva, in addition to thea- 
trical and panoramic representations of the mysteries 
of Christianity, have had their effect;* whilst cures 
performed at the shrines of saints, religious pilgrimages, 
honour paid to martyrs and their relics, together with 
many other of the peculiar customs and even tenets of 
the Romanist, have been familiar to the native mind 
in the rites of their own superstitions. We are aware 
that in the eyes of an uneducated Hindoo, the Roman 
Catholic ascetic appears identical with his own yogi, or 
the Mussulman fakir, and is in consequence entitled to 

* This is an improvement on the mysteries of the Middle Ages. 
" Another most efficacious means for conversion is the representation 
of the passion of our Saviour either by means of transparent pictures 
shown at night with a light behind, or by a sort of commemorative 
exhibition accompanied by a sermon." — Jesuit in India, p. 183. " Pro- 
cessions at night accompanied by immense torches, noise, fireworks, 
and barbarous music, are neither Catholic nor Protestant, but they 
are essentially Indian, and, therefore, perfectly lawful for the Indian 
Catholic, so long as the object for which they are made is Christian 
and Catholic." — Do., p. 185. Father Martin died in 1840 ; already as 
many as 15,000 pilgrims collect on the anniversary of the day of his 
death, and very many sick are cured, &c, Do., p. 130. F. dei Nobili 
and Brito had great success in working miracles, casting out devils, 
&c, p. 35. See also Ranke's History of Popes, p. 253. 



132 



THE THEORY AND 



similar respect. The shrine of the Virgin and the 
sanctum of a Buddhist temple are so similar in their 
decorations and character, that Le Compte records it 
as a remark of one of the missionaries themselves, 
that the devil must have got the start, and suggested 
these things, for the purpose of mortifying them. A 
worshipper of Vishnu regards with equal toleration 
the Buddhist, who gazes with religious awe on the 
coffer supposed to contain the tooth of Budh, and 
the Romanist, who piously venerates the bone of St. 
Thomas. 

We are far from recommending to Protestants the 
charlatanism of Popish missioners, yet in respect to 
caste there is much to learn from their caution and 
toleration. Caste, as we have so often observed, has 
been viewed almost entirely through the false medium 
of Shasters, and in consequence has been considered 
so highly idolatrous, as to be perfectly inconsistent 
with Christianity. Hence our missionaries have di- 
rected all their energies to its abolition, holding its 
relinquishment to be an essential condition of conver- 
sion. Whereas, however its origin may have been 
veiled in superstition, and its observance enforced by 
superstitious feelings, its practical working is a mere 
separation of society into grades, in the case of the 
higher classes being much the same as nobility among 
Europeans. 

The prevalence of Christianity would in time modify 
these divisions, and correct any anomalies which 
exist ; but these should not be considered as obstacles 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



133 



to its diffusion. The difference between slave and 
master is often much greater than that which exists 
between a man of high and low caste, yet the apostles 
did not make the emancipation of slaves a necessary 
condition of embracing Christianity. 

It is not the genius of our religion violently to 
disturb social grades ; to incite a man of low caste to 
treat with disrespect those whom he has been taught to 
salute with the utmost deference. Viewing caste in 
this light, and we confidently believe that it is a view 
as Christian as it is practical and agreeable to common 
sense, we see no just cause for the crusade which our 
missionaries have waged against all its regulations — 
a crusade as useless as it has been costly and in- 
effective. 

A writer on America observes,* " There exists a 
penal law, deeply written in the minds of the whole 
white population, which subjects their coloured fellow- 
citizens to unconditional contumely, and never-ceasing 
insult. No respectability, however unquestionable, 
no property, however large, no character, however 
unblemished, will gain a man, whose body is (in 
American estimation) cursed with even a twentieth 
portion of the blood of his African ancestry, admission 
into society. They are considered as outcasts and 
vagrants on the face of the earth." Such a description 
as this would give a very exaggerated idea of the 
social difference which exists in general, between the 
highest and lowest Hindoo castes. Who will tell us 
* Fearon's Letters on America, p. 168. 



134 THE THEORY AND 

that the participation in such sentiments, and a sub- 
mission to the rules of society to which they give rise, 
is utterly inconsistent with the profession of Chris- 
tianity ? The wildest bigot would not venture on this 
account to place the Americans, one-half of the Pro- 
testant Church, beyond the pale of salvation. Why, 
in the case of the heathen Hindoo, should we consider 
that an insuperable bar to conversion, which, in the 
case of the American, can co-exist with Christianity? 

In India, the continual rise of new castes ; the little 
notice which is attached to conversions to any creed 
which admits of caste ; * the facility with which such 
conversions are said to take place, prove that little, 
if any religious idea, is attached to this matter. The 
fact of the Mussulmans, and several other religious 
denominations, having embraced caste ; the fact of 
the Sikhs having, as a matter of policy, first abo- 
lished, and afterwards allowed of its re-introduction, 
show how entirely it has now (whatever was once the 
case) become an affair more of social convenience 
than of religious necessity. 

We see then no reason for our missionaries laying 
stress upon the abolition of caste. It is a matter which 
does not, properly, in anywise concern them. Their 
interference in its regulations is in the highest degree 
impertinent and injudicious. As a natural effect, it 
has been productive of immense harm to the cause 
which they advocate. Often, owing to the popular 
excitement which it has produced, it has been necessary 
* Shore's India, p. 460. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



135 



for the preservation of the public peace that Govern- 
ment should even discourage their efforts. That mis- 
sionary wanders far from the path of duty who labours 
to set aside social grades and disturb organized 
society. 

If the principles we have mentioned be admitted, 
it would be advisable tacitly to allow of the respect 
paid to members of the higher classes. If we con- 
sider how lightly they esteem men of the lower castes, 
and how readily these on the other hand acknowledge 
their superiority, it would be a step replete with 
prudence to select, in all cases in which it is possible, 
our catechists, and the ministers of religion, from them, 
in preference to the lower castes. Those persons 
whose minds are unimbued with the true feelings 
of the Hindoo in respect to the regulations of his 
caste, may be somewhat astonished at the proposition ; 
we would even allow of it at the holy communion. It 
is an impropriety for a Bramin to use the same cup as 
a Sudra. Sooner than this should be an obstacle to 
his partaking of this mystery we would gratify his 
prejudice. 

That a Bramin should communicate from a separate 
cup in the eyes of a Hindoo differs nothing from what 
we ourselves constantly observe without abhorrence in 
English churches : namely, that persons in the con- 
gregation, of the greatest respectability, are the first 
to advance to the altar, whilst the beadles and servants 
of the church, usually communicate last. We are 
aware that the intrusion of caste into this most sacred 



136 THE THEORY AND 

ceremony has been universally condemned ; that 
Bishop Heber has spoken of it, prima facie, as " an 
abominable claim." We are still, however, of opinion, 
that if he could divest himself of preconceived ideas, 
and view caste in the light in which a Hindoo prac- 
tically regards it, an unprejudiced Christian, sincerely 
anxious for the diffusion of the grand principles of his 
religion, would not condemn the conclusion to which 
we have arrived. Other cases, in which the regu- 
lations of caste should be tacitly acknowledged, might 
be mentioned, but the principle which applies to this, 
an extreme case, applies also to them. 

We would reprobate, for instance, any unnecessary 
or officious interference with caste, in the case of those 
who attend our schools. It has there, sometimes, been 
employed as a method of punishment.* Sons of men 
of high caste have been compelled to drink from the 
cup of the Pariah. Of proceedings like these, we 
would express the most unqualified disapprobation. 
The American missionaries, at one time, insisted upon 

* The native revenue collectors are said sometimes to avail them- 
selves of caste, as a means of obtaining the taxes from those who are 
backward in their payments. This is, of course, done without the 
sanction or knowledge of Government. They select men of low caste, 
such, for instance, as workers in leather, or others whose occupations 
are offensive to the religious prejudices of the Hindoos, to serve 
notices, &c. On men of high caste, this is something analogous to, 
though by no means the same thing, as an English tax-gatherer 
selecting sweeps or scavengers, fresh from their respective functions, 
and directing them to force their way into an English gentleman's 
dining-room, and serve a notice upon him. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



137 



all their pupils eating beef cooked by a Pariah. This 
was the greatest degradation they could devise, and, 
of course, few but Pariahs would attend their schools. 
We are happy to state that measures so intolerant do 
not now thwart their usefulness. 

If caste could be proved an item of the religious 
faith of the Hindoo, the scrupulosity of our mis- 
sionaries might be defended. Such, however, is not 
now practically the case. Whatever may be said on 
this subject in books which we venture to say, not one 
native in ten thousand has ever read, whatever may be 
theoretically the case, caste is practically not a religious, 
but a social division of society. It is found existing 
among sects whose creeds are as different and as 
opposite as those of the Hindoo and the Christian. 
Is not, then, conduct such as our missionaries have 
exhibited, alien to that enlightened and liberal spirit 
of Christianity which received the impress of Divine 
authority at the council of Jerusalem ? The sentence 
of St. James was, " not to trouble them which from 
the Gentiles are turned to God ;" and it seemed good 
to the Holy Ghost to lay upon them no greater 
burden than mere necessary things. 

The character of the Hindoo is completely different, 
and often at variance with that of the European. As 
far as human efforts are concerned in the spread of 
Christianity, the great secret is, to take the people 
according to their genius and disposition. Except 
where the essential truths of religion are concerned, 
their manners, customs, and feelings, should be care- 



138 



THE THEORY AND 



fully consulted. These are not to be judged of by 
European, but by Indian ideas. If in these respects 
our missionaries had been more careful — if before 
addressing themselves to the natives, they had gained 
an intimate acquaintance with their methods of social 
intercourse, their manner of salutation, and terms of 
politeness — if instead of Pariahs, they had selected for 
their domestics men of respectable caste — if in a thou- 
sand minute particulars, instead of setting at defiance, 
they had yielded to native ideas — there can be little 
doubt, that with all their appliances of wealth and in- 
tellect, our Eastern missions would have produced less 
barren results. 

It must not be supposed, that we advocate the 
policy of Protestant missionaries addressing themselves 
with greater energy to the conversion of the higher 
classes, merely from the example of the Jesuits. It is 
well known, that within the nominal dominions of the 
Maha Rajah of Tanjore, there exist probably more 
congregations of Protestants, than throughout all the 
rest of India. The establishment of more than 200 
such Christian communities was the work of one man, 
the indefatigable Schwartz. 

As the guardian of the infant Rajah, he became 
acquainted with all the grandees of the kingdom. 
From the conversion of his royal ward, he abstained 
from a feeling of honour which does credit to his 
character. To the higher ranks of the realm, to the 
nobles and men of cultivation, he preached with such 
success, that his converts have been vaguely estimated 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



139 



at from fifteen to forty thousand.* These were in 
general persons of education and respectability, who 
could give a reason for the faith that was in them, and 
who kept alive the spirit of their religion when, after 
fifty years of missionary labour, their noble pastor was 
removed. They were a class of men, we are told, as 
superior in knowledge and morality, as they were in 
social rank, to the Roman Catholics and the heathen 
by whom they were surrounded. Yet it was by no 
unwarrantable compromise with their prejudices, that 
success so extraordinary attended the active and fear- 
less exertions of Schwartz. He did not render himself 
contemptible or disagreeable, by needlessly offending 
against the common regulations of Hindoo society, 
however these might sometimes clash with European 
prejudices. Before men of respectability and mental 
culture, whose previous education had rendered them 
capable of appreciating his arguments, he unfolded 
the futility and absurdity of their superstitions. 
When such men were gained over, the common herd, 
who always imitate in their conduct and opinions the 
example of their superiors, were converted with 
facility. 

Among other circumstances which have tended to 
retard the progress of conversion, is the passion of the 
Hindoos for the extraordinary and the monstrous. The 
Bramins observed, that no ordinary occurrences could 
move their gross imagination, or produce the least im- 
pression. They consequently compounded for them a 
* Heber's Journey, Vol. iii. p. 460. 



140 



THE THEORY AND 



religion that, both in theory and practice, surpasses 
the utmost bounds of extravagance. The miracles by 
which the truths of the successive revelations of our 
Scriptures are said to have been confirmed, are con- 
sidered by them utterly inadequate to the importance 
of the doctrines which are promulgated. However 
wonderful they may appear to a common understand- 
ing, they are by no means so to the Hindoos. The 
deeds of Joshua, and other Jewish warriors and judges, 
are as nothing when compared with the achievements of 
Rama, and the miracles which attended his progress, 
when he subdued Ceylon, and conquered the giant 
Ravana, under an arch of whose lofty palace, the sun 
every day passed at noon. The strength of Samson 
dwindles into obscurity before the overwhelming 
energy of Bali and the giants. The resurrection of 
Lazarus itself is an ordinary event, of which they see 
frequent examples in the ceremonies of Vishnu. In 
disputations on religion the Bramins are said often to 
introduce such comparisons as the above. 

Another obstacle to the conversion of the Hindoos, 
irrespective of caste, has been the irreligion which was 
formerly so prevalent among the Europeans settled in 
the country. Uncontrolled by public opinion ; ener- 
vated, as well in mind as in body, by the relaxing in- 
fluence of the climate ; urged on by the desire of 
excessive gains — " auri sacra fames " — it is not sur- 
prising that the limits of morality were too often 
transgressed. Until recently, the habits of the ma- 

* Dubois India, p. 422. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



141 



jority of Europeans, as far as religion is concerned, 
were below even those of the heathen by whom they 
were surrounded. These, at least, paid attention to 
their own forms and ceremonies, and were on the 
whole not an immoral race ; whilst the former often 
threw aside all consideration on the subject, and lived 
as if there were no heaven nor hell, " without God in 
the world." 

The natives, accustomed to indolence and apathy, 
even in the commission of crime, were astounded at 
the (to them) dreadful energy which Europeans ex- 
hibited in the indulgence of their evil inclinations. 
In some cases they absolutely regarded them as de- 
mons of iniquity, and incarnations of their most ter- 
rible deities. The Shanars of Travancore, who are 
all devil-worshippers, with horrible ceremonies and 
disgusting dances propitiate the objects of their fear, 
and continually add to the numbers of their devils.* 
In one district an Englishman is said to have been 
worshipped as such, the offerings on his tomb being 
spirits and cigars ! Can we wonder that the Hindoos 
were for many years backward in embracing the re- 
ligion of men whose conduct gave rise to such terri- 
ble surmises, such monstrous suspicions ? 

The Christian again, according to the injunction of 
our Saviour, prays in secret. The Mahometan, on 
the contrary, performs his devotions at the appointed 
time, utterly regardless of the presence of strangers. 
The Hindoos, who are accustomed to this sight, from 
* See Calcutta Eeview for Sept. 1851. 



142 



THE THEORY AND 



rarely if ever seeing a European so engaged, not 
unnaturally fell into the mistake of supposing that 
prayer formed no part of his religion. The son of the 
Nawab of the Carnatic once observed to Schwartz: 
" Padree, we always regarded you Europeans as a 
most irreligious race of men, unacquainted even with 
the nature of prayer, till you came and told us, that 
you had good men in Europe ; since you came here, 
indeed, we begin to think better of you. ,,# Dubois, 
too, when explaining the virtues inculcated by the 
Christian religion, was not unfrequently asked, why 
he did not teach Europeans, who had none of these 
virtues ; and the same question is said to be sometimes 
put to the clergy and missionaries of the present day. 

Thus, laying aside all considerations of caste, it 
cannot be a matter of surprise, that the natives should 
have turned a deaf ear to the religion of a people, 
who, by the immorality of their lives, practically 
denied the truth of its precepts. Although in mat- 
ters of opinion far from intolerant^ there is a strong 
feeling among them, arising possibly from feelings 

* Schwartz's Memoirs, Vol. i. p. 223 ; see also p. 195. The habit of 
neglecting all forms and observances of religion used to be so strong 
among the Anglo-Indians, that on returning to England they found it 
difficult to change then conduct. It gave rise to the well-known obser- 
vation:—" That the English nabobs drop their religion at the Cape as 
they go to India, and forget to take it up again on then return home." 
Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 456. 

* Major-Gen. Briggs' Essay read before Asiatic Society, says: — 
" The people of India are usually liberal in their opinions, and the 
Hindoos especially are tolerant on the subject of religion." 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



143 



of exclusiveness, which have their origin in caste, that 
in the performance of religious duties no latitude is 
to be allowed. It is not so much the dogmas of 
any particular sect, as the obedience paid to them, 
which elicits the highest respect. The pious Hindoos 
will often bring their simple offerings, indiscrimi- 
nately to the shrine of a Mussulman or Bramin saint.* 
Hence that Europeans should habitually disregard 
what they profess to follow, especially shocks the 
native mind. Unlike all previous rulers, Govern- 
ment has abstained from every attempt at influencing 
either directly or indirectly the faith of the people. 
" It has been of no religion, and if it has made any 
distinction, it has been in an indisposition to tolerate 
the introduction of Christianity. "f 

In this point of view, the introduction of the episco- 
pal dignity into India, and the erection of schools 
and churches, has of late done much to advance the 
cause of Christianity. It has, as it were, visibly 
shown to the Hindoos, that we have a religion and a 
Shaster, and that there are those among us who 
practise the doctrines which we profess. 

In our ecclesiastical arrangements, however, there 
is still much to perplex them. With them the cere- 
monies of religion are conducted with the utmost 
splendour. State pageants are dependent upon them, 
and upon the hospitality shown to Bramins, for a 

* Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 490. 

+ Campbell's India, p. 208. See also Sir J. Malcolm's Political 
Hist, of India, p. 472 and 473. 



144 



THE THEORY AND 



considerable portion of their iclat. With us, all is 
different. In our religion we study the rudest sim- 
plicity, whilst in our public levees, durbars, and in all 
official intercourse with the natives, we ostentatiously 
affect oriental magnificence.* 

In a region where the pomp and circumstance of 
state have considerable influence on the sentiments of 
the people, our missionaries have appeared under the 
humblest character, and have connected themselves, 
almost exclusively, with the very dregs of the people. 
The ignorance and limited capacities of an uneducated 
rabble, brought up in the grossest superstition, alto- 
gether unfits them from comprehending the divine 
mysteries of the Gospel. Intercourse with these is 
everywhere, but especially in India, an impediment 
to obtaining access to the higher members of society. 
In this respect, it must be allowed, that caste has done 
much to thwart missionary endeavours. The same, 
however, would have been the case in any other 
country. Men ordinarily respect an opinion in pro- 
portion to the dignity of those who hold it. " Have 
any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?" 
was the cautious inquiry of those who had sent to 
apprehend our Saviour. This feeling, which belongs 
to all men, is a distinctive feature in the character 
of the Hindoo. Extreme deference to his superiors 
forms the most active part of his morality. What 

* E. g. The Government allows its servants money for the purpose of 
defraying the expenses of the presents, &c, necessary on visiting the 
native courts. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



145 



can be more reasonable, then, than that the Gospel 
should in India first be preached to the educated and 
respectable ; to those whose minds and faculties, by 
the advantages which riches and rank procure, have 
been enlarged and cultivated ? 

If we would learn the description of converts which 
are made from the lowest castes, hear what Abbe 
Dubois says of those whom he had himself converted. 
" During the long period that I have lived in India, 
in the capacity of missionary, I have made, with the 
assistance of a native, in all, about three hundred con- 
verts of both sexes. Of this number two-thirds were 
Pariahs or beggars, and the rest were composed of 
Sudras, vagrants and outcasts of several tribes, who 
being without resource, turned Christians in order to 
form new connections, chiefly for the purpose of mar- 
riage, or with some other interested views. I am 
verily ashamed that the resolution which I have taken 
to declare the whole truth on this subject, forces me to 
make the humiliating avowal, that those who con- 
tinued Christians are the very worst among my 
flock." The reports of the different missionary socie- 
ties of the present day, give an account of their con- 
verts much more encouraging, though in all pro- 
bability far from being so sternly correct as this of 
our simple-minded Abbe. 

The want of a society, into which they may be re- 
ceived, is a great drawback to the conversion of the 
natives. Here, again, caste stands an antagonist to 
our missionaries. A convert is necessarily an outcast 

L 



146 



THE THEORY AND 



from his own class. Hindoos of the higher castes often 
become Mahometans, with little or no further incon- 
venience than a Dissenter would experience in be- 
coming a Churchman.* The reason being, that a 
convert to El Islam finds a society ready to receive 
him. This possesses strong religious feelings, and is 
able and willing to protect him, and resent any in- 
sult or annoyance which might be offered to him. 
Whereas, for Christian converts of the lower orders, 
there is no English population, with which they can 
associate. 

They exhibit the signs of conversion more often by 
eating beef and by intoxication, than by excellence of 
character. They consequent^ find a difficulty in ob- 
taining employment, even from the English, and either 
from their necessities or inclination are to be seen, 
with a Bible in one hand, and a petition in the other, 
wandering through the country, soliciting the alms of 
Europeans. With these they will be eager to converse 
on the subject of religion, but will invariably conclude 
by asking some favour — a testimonial to character, or 
a recommendation to the district judge, for facilitating 
the decision of some long-pending suit. Their irre- 
gularities and lax morality have, on many occasions, 
shocked the feelings of even their heathen countrymen. 

Their conduct again is often so highly injudicious, 
that the English, as a body, give but little encourage- 
ment to their dependants becoming Christians. Be- 
sides a too common deficiency in moral virtues, many 
* See Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 460. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



147 



of them apply their previous ideas of social rank to 
their new condition. They imagine themselves of the 
same caste, and in consequence on a footing of equa- 
lity, with their masters. By most ridiculous attempts 
at familiarity, they render themselves annoying and 
contemptible. " I have seen," says a writer on Indian 
affairs, " a native Christian, not long after his con- 
version, approach his former master with a familiar 
smirk, accosting him with ' How do V (the only Eng- 
lish he had learned), instead of treating him in his 
usual respectful manner. This sort of conduct is very 
common among them." # 

From the same idea, that by conversion they be- 
come of the same caste as the English, they imagine 
that there is no longer any obligation on them to 
work, but that they must be employed as teachers, or 
in some higher sphere of labour, and by their foolish 
and affected manners do little credit to the cause they 
pretend to have embraced. 

We are well aware, that these are tidings which 
may be unpleasant to many a benevolent Christian, 
who has contributed largely to missionary enterprise. 
They are probably novel and startling to those who 
have pictured to themselves a converted Hindoo as all 
that was meek, and humble, and excellent. Such a 
one as figures in the pages of missionary pamphlets — 
at first a heathen foul with every crime, and then a 
Christian redolent with every virtue. We would not 
assert that such accounts are untrue, though frequently 
* Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 462. 



! 



148 



THE THEORY AND 



too highly coloured. There are, doubtless, among the 
native converts, as large, if not a larger sprinkling of 
true Christians, than even in countries long subject to 
Gospel light. The object of missionary publications 
is to keep alive an interest in the proceedings and 
success of those who are engaged in propagating 
Christianity ; not to give prominence to those points 
in which their efforts have partially failed. Our ob- 
ject, on the other hand — an object, as far as it goes, no 
less beneficial to the interests of our Indian missions — 
has been to enumerate some of the obstacles which, 
directly connected with caste or otherwise, have hin- 
dered the progress of conversion. Our remarks may 
have been strong, but they are not in any way in- 
tended to condemn the general exertions of our mis- 
sionaries. These may, in some cases, have been mis- 
directed, but they have always been worthy of the 
utmost respect. We hold that the propagation of his 
religion is much more the duty of a Christian, than 
the majority suppose. We look forward to the day 
when that duty shall be more plainly acknowledged. 
We should hail with delight any measure which would 
make the support of missions, not the voluntary act of 
a portion of its members, but (as it ought to be) a 
duty incumbent upon the whole church — an expense 
to be defrayed from her own revenues. 

We have remarked above, that our missionaries, 
from associating too much with the lowest castes, 
generally learn to speak the native languages vul- 
garly, and write them inelegantly. When they have 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



149 



attained a certain facility in expressing their thoughts, 
it is too often their custom to set about translating 
portions of the Bible, or some other religious work, 
into the barbarous dialect which they have acquired. 
They thus bring as much contempt upon their religion 
as if a Chinese, eager to give intelligent Englishmen 
an idea of his religious belief, should translate the 
works of Confucius into the broadest dialect of Somer- 
set or Yorkshire. 

Yet such has been too much the case with our 
Eastern missionaries. Although the Oriental lan- 
guages are totally different in style, structure, and 
allusions from those of Europe, and require the most 
unremitting application before the student can gain a 
familiar acquaintance with them ; yet it has repeatedly 
happened that missionaries, after a study of a few 
years, have sent forth translations of the Scriptures. 
Rhenius declares that he began to edit a new edition 
of the Tamul Bible before he had been in Madras one 
year and a half! Other * missionaries have confessed 
to a similar folly, and warned their successors against it. 

Such hasty and imperfect works, undertaken before 
they have acquired a competent knowledge of the 
language in which they wrote, have been either simply 
useless, or, from explaining the doctrines of our faith 
by ridiculous forms of expression, have been abso- 
lutely pernicious. 

After a few years' application, f the missionaries of 
Serampore announced that they had translated the 

* E. g. Dr. Carey. + Quarterly Keview for Dec. 1825. 



150 



THE THEORY AND 



Scriptures into tioenty-seven different languages. The 
consequences of this haste were such as might have 
been expected. The versions abounded with glaring 
mistakes. By mis-spelling, and mis-employing words 
and phrases, the sense of the original was sometimes 
completely lost, and the meaning ludicrous and 
absurd. Of this kind, the reader may find several 
instances in Abbe Dubois' works on India. 

The methods by which missionaries endeavour to 
attract attention have frequently operated to the injury 
of their cause among a people who are, perhaps, more 
alive to their absurdity than even Europeans. Judson, 
for instance, commenced his missionary labours at 
Rangoon, in Burmah, by constructing on the side of 
the road leading to the grand pagoda, a little hut of 
bamboo and thatch, without doors, windows, or par- 
titions.* Here, as his wife relates, he used to sit all 
the day long, and say to the passers by, a Ho ! every 
one that thirsteth, come to the waters, and he that 
hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come buy 
wine and milk, without price." What could be more 
ill-judged, not to say absurd, than this? How could 
the passers by, by any human possibility, have the 
least comprehension of this beautiful metaphor ? 
Taking it in its literal sense, the only one in which 
they could take it, can we blame the Burmese for 
laughing in his face, and considering him, prima facie/ 
either a fool or a madman ? Missionaries will, of 

* Mrs. Judson's account of the American Baptist Mission to the 
Bur man empire. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



151 



course, reply, that such conduct is but in unison with 
that of the preachers and prophets of olden times, who 
thus veiled their meaning in parable and allegory. 
Undoubtedly they did. But they spoke intelligibly in 
the vernacular tongue : they were not strangers, 
mangling and stuttering forth a foreign language. 
They used national images ; they referred to national 
customs ; they explained, in an easy and familiar man- 
ner, the meaning and drift of their remarks. Such a 
method, as we have described, of exciting interest by 
employing expressions, startling and paradoxical, has 
been too much the fashion in our Indian missions. 

Can it it be astonishing that Christianity, by these 
means, made but little progress among a refined 
people, possessing so keen an appreciation of the ridi- 
culous, that their oldest and favourite authors are 
those who have indulged in satire. 

But to return to our subject. After allowing for 
the operation of the numerous obstacles to conversion 
which we have mentioned, it will still appear that 
caste is, to a certain extent, an impediment to the 
spread of Christianity. Many persons might think 
that its opposition is insurmountable. 

We are not, however, the first who have attempted 
to modify it, nor the only persons who have preached 
universal toleration in India * The Sikhs, under their 
founder, Nanik Baba, absolutely abolished caste. 

* At the temple of Juggernaut, and the district around, there is 
universal peace. The distinction of castes and sects ceases. — Abb6 
Dubois' India, p. 418. 



152 



THE THEORY AND 



They allowed of all religious opinions, so far as they 
did not offend the prejudices of others. Whilst on the 
one hand they forbade idolatrous processions to Hindoo 
deities ; on the other hand, the killing of cattle was 
prohibited, and no muezzin from the lofty minaret 
summoned the faithful to prayers. Mahometan or 
Hindoo, Bramin or Sudra, Buddhist or Jain, all 
became his converts, and the Sikhs soon rose to be a 
sect, so powerful and numerous, that under their 
martial leader, Guru Govind, they gained, at the death 
of Aurangzib, a country and a standing in India. 
Caste has of late been gradually reappearing among 
them, but without in any way affecting the order of 
things established by Nanik. What greater obstacles, 
we would ask, are presented by caste to the diffusion of 
Christianity than it presented to the regulations of 
Nanik — regulations by which it was itself annihilated ? * 
Why similarly should not its success be equal to that 
which his system experienced 1 

We will, in the second place, proceed to examine 
whether caste does not in some respects pave the way for 
Christianity, 

Whatever morality has been fostered by caste, will all 
assist the missionary. That the morality resulting 
from this cause, is in many cases of a very high cha- 
racter, we have already observed. In the domestic 
circle it has fostered many virtues, which will, doubt- 
less, pave the way for the reception of the Gospel.f 
Among the Rajpoots especially, there are traits of 

* See Elphinstone, p. 601. + See Col. Tod's Rajastlian, passim. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



153 



noble sentiments, which we are apt to imagine peculiar 
to Christianity. Their high feelings of honour, their 
strong attachment to truth, their love of their country, 
their childish simplicity in the arts of life, their 
disregard for pelf and personal advantage, but, above 
all, the freedom allowed to their women, who are, 
comparatively, well educated, and are remarkable for 
their chastity, the respect paid to them, and the 
affection exhibited by every one to his family and 
kindred. These are a collection of virtues but rarely 
found in a heathen, and do, we conceive, dispose them 
to the reception of Gospel truths. 

Caste no longer directly hinders conversion. The hor- 
rors of being an outcast, which were never such as 
they have been portrayed by Southey, in the " Curse 
of Kehania," have of late greatly diminished. Bodies 
of native Christians are growing up, to which every 
fresh convert can immediately attach himself, and 
avoid any trifling disadvantage which might arise from 
being an outcast. 

When considerable societies shall thus have been 
formed throughout the peninsula, our religion will, as 
it is already doing, take its place among the numerous 
creeds which are everywhere prevalent. Its diffusion 
and popularity will then, in nearly every case, depend 
upon its own merits, and the energy of its preachers, 
assisted by the Divine blessing. Caste will present 
no more opposition to its spread, than it has done 
to the numberless other religions which exist in India. 

There is at present in India a spirit of inquiry, and 



154 



THE THEORY AND 



an eagerness for European learning, which will im- 
mensely forward the cause of Christianity. Our Go- 
vernment, but above all, our missionaries, have fostered 
this spirit by a grand system of education. By this, 
more than by any other measure, they will sap the 
foundations of caste, and diffuse Christianity. 

We will not encumber our pages with a mass of 
figures and dry data : suffice it to say, that wherever 
there are missionary stations, there day - schools, 
boarding-schools, and schools for females are almost 
invariably found. The course of instruction is, for the 
most part, secular, consisting of reading, writing, and 
the elements of general knowledge. All attempts at 
conversion are studiously declaimed, though the Scrip- 
tures form the class-book for the purpose of reading. 
So high is the opinion in which their character and 
precepts are held by the Hindoos, that the schools of 
our missionaries are, for this very reason, better 
attended than those of Government, in which the 
Kuran is often a text-book. So extraordinary is the 
desire for knowledge now prevalent, and so singular 
the admiration for the Bible, that when certain 
Hindoos in Jaffa # established a school in opposition 
to that of the missionaries, they were compelled to 
introduce the Bible, to prevent their establishment 
from being absolutely deserted. 

The conversion of the Hindoos is, it is true, by no 
means rapid; but this can hardy be regretted, if it is at 

* See Calcutta Eeview for September 1851, p. 262. Also, Campbell's 
Government of India, p. 209. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



155 



the same time sure. Like Baber, when he invaded 
their country, the people have hesitated long ; but 
when opinion is ripe they will doubtless "put their 
foot in the stirrup of resolution," and a conversion, 
wide-spread and genuine, may be the result. 

It is their character to be greatly swayed by the 
examples of persons of high rank and power. Hitherto 
the only Christians of this class have been Euro- 
peans. Suppose, however, that some of the native 
princes were to turn Christians, who shall say what 
might be the effect ? We have had, perhaps, no 
experience of such an event ; but acquaintance with 
the peculiar genius of the nation renders us sanguine 
for the result. The natives may possibly, even now, 
be only waiting for some influential Rajah, some 
Hindoo Constantine, to arise and embrace Chris- 
tianity. The great and the powerful may then come 
over; and when the chief men of each class have 
deserted Hindooism, we have reason to suppose that 
the rest of their respective castes will hasten to join 
their ranks. In this particular, caste may have no 
unimportant effect in accelerating the conversion of the 
whole people. 

Not only Mussulmans, but even Bramins, stand by 
with perfect coolness, and listen with apparent plea- 
sure to scholars reading the stories of the creation* 
and of the miracles of our Saviour. A more favour- 
able opinion of Europeans is said to have arisen in the 
minds of the natives, who have by means of our 
schools become acquainted with some of the leading 



156 



THE THEORY AND 



features of our religion. The idea, that we had 
neither " Shaster nor caste," i. e., neither Bible nor 
religious community, is rapidly wearing away. There 
are everywhere found intelligent Hindoos, who appear 
to take a pleasure in comparing our Scriptures with 
their own sacred works. For the results of a search- 
ing comparison no Christian need fear. 

Before education "prejudices are everywhere giving way. 
The seclusion of females is becoming less strict. Those 
among the lower classes eagerly attend our schools, 
receiving instruction with the greatest avidity. The 
daughters of numerous families of the higher ranks 
are taught in private.* In visiting or receiving the 
visits of a native one can now inquire without offence 
after the welfare of the zenana. 

Even the remarriage of widows is discussed by the 
native papers, and its advantages fully acknowledged. 
A numerous body is coming forward in society, pos- 
sessing notions far more enlightened than those of 
their fathers ; a body of men who put but little faith 
in the Shasters, and look upon the old pundits and 
teachers as ignorant bigots. In the case of medical 
pupils, many prejudices, which but recently were sup- 
posed insurmountable, have been already overcome. 
On every side they are falling and tottering. Educa- 

* This is the more wonderful, when we consider that under the 
ancient regime, the immodest girls employed in the worship of idols, 
and other prostitutes, were the only persons taught to read. It was 
thought the mark of an irregular education, if a modest woman were 
found capable of reading. She herself would have concealed it out of 
shame. Abbe Dubois' India, p. 217. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



157 



tion of any sort would produce this effect ; combined 
with religious instruction, its influence is doubled. 
Caste as well as other superstitions will either vanish, 
or be gradually modified. Even at this present mo- 
ment, in the south of India, so long its strongest hold, 
Hindoo boys and young men reside on the premises 
of the missionaries, and eat food there without losing 
caste. # 

There is another point, iD which the institutions of 
caste may be supposed to have operated favourably 
for the success of our missionaries. Among the gene- 
rality of heathens, immense reverence is attached to 
those by whom the public worship and the ceremonies 
of religion are regulated. Although the main object 
of the Code of Menu is to confirm and increase the 
power of the Bramins, this method of gaining them 
consideration has, for some reason which it would be 
impossible to fathom, been neglected.f They are not 
absolutely forbidden to sacrifice, or to perform the 
duties peculiar to priests, but they derive no dignity 
from their service at the temples. In fact the per- 
formance of this, as a regular profession, is considered 
degrading. At the present day necessity has driven 
very many of them to this, as a means of livelihood, 
but the original feeling in regard to it still subsists in 
full force. The grand mission of the Bramins, their 
most honourable employment, is teaching. The la- 
bours of our missionaries have unwittingly been un- 

* See Calcutta Review, for Sept. 1851. 
+ See Elpbinstone, p. 13. 



158 



THE THEORY AND 



dertaken in exact coincidence with, popular ideas on 
this subject. The grand scheme of education, which 
they are developing, is supplanting the lifeless and 
effete lectures of Bramins, who have fallen far behind 
the spirit of the age. The natives view with pleasure 
their noble efforts. They recognize in them the Bra- 
mins of the tenth Avatar ; that last Avatar which is 
soon to come, and in which caste itself shall be ex- 
tinct. Our present method of propagating Chris- 
tianity has, in this point, so completely fallen in with 
their previous habits of thought, that the salute which 
is paid to the Bramins, not that salute which is due to 
the priest, is considered the proper expression of re- 
spect to a missionary. 

The Bramins are no longer so highly honoured. The 
clever Sudras thrust them aside from place and power 
without scruple. By far the greater increase in wealth 
and wisdom, has been diffused among these. As the 
people advance in knowledge and enlightenment, the 
influence of the Bramins, whose interest it is to 
keep them in ignorance, must of necessity fail. The 
Sudras, who form the majority of Hindoos, when they 
begin to weigh the respective merits of their own 
religion and Christianity, will discover how clouded 
are their spiritual prospects — how little Menu has done 
for them. Whilst, on the other hand, our Bible gives 
them many special invitations, and opens out glorious 
advantages beyond the grave. Is it then unreasonable 
to suppose, that they will, without much hesitation, 
desert a creed, in which they are considered on a par 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



159 



with animals, and embrace one in which they would in 
many particulars be placed on a level with kings and 
priests 1 

The effect of the Bramins having for so long a 
period monopolized the learning of the country, and 
studiously concealed it from the masses, will be to 
produce some grand climax, when the power of the 
press, and a more general diffusion of knowledge, has 
opened the eyes of the many, to the unreasonableness 
of their pretensions. Such a climax would, in general, 
be accompanied by the most violent outrages. These, 
however, the power fularm of our Government will 
probably be able to repress. The Bramin, as is al- 
ready partially the case, will take his position in 
society as a man of some consideration, not on ac- 
count of his caste, but in consequence of his polished 
manners and ready address. He will probably be- 
come, what he already is in the Cuttack, and in some 
other parts of India, in which the Bramins have ap- 
plied themselves to agriculture and commerce, a re- 
spectable farmer or merchant.* 

Of such as have already engaged in the ordinary 
pursuits of life it has been remarked, that " their moral 
and intellectual worth seems to rise exactly in propor- 
tion to their emancipation from those shackles of pre- 
judice and superstition, which narrow the minds and 
debase the natures of the higher and orthodox class." 

Nay, he may even himself profess Christianity, and 
when the sentiments of the majority of the people 
* Asiatic Transactions, Vol. xv. p. 198. 



160 



THE THEORY AND 



have become favourable to its introduction, an order of 
Government may transfer to the use of the Christian 
ministry, the funds and lands which now support the 
Bramins, or are devoted to the service of temples, or 
the expenses of their processions of Shiva, Juggernaut, 
or Kali. It was thus that the Emperor Gratian ap- 
plied to the service of the Church, the revenues of the 
Pagan priests and vestals. # It was thus that Theo- 
dosius, throughout the whole of the Roman Empire, 
confiscated the consecrated property of heathenism for 
the benefit of Christianity. 

The Bramin may possibly be found among the 
ranks of the priesthood. He may throw aside the 
poita, to assume the surplice ; and, as a minister of the 
Gospel, may still receive the respect of the people. 
The dandwut, or Braminical salute, with which the 
natives are even now not backward in greeting our 
missionaries, may be permanently transferred from the 
Bramin to the Christian clergyman. 

The relaxed state of Hinduism and caste, consequent 
upon such a change in the sentiments of the people, 
willy doubtless, as is already in some places the case, 
produce a laxity of morals, which may be regretted, but 
can hardly be avoided. Caste is, as we have said, in a 
great measure the character of the Hindoo. When 
this is removed, for the more unthinking part of the 
people, one of the great inducements to moral conduct 
will be destroyed ; and it will be some time before 
they gain a character, in our European idea of the 

* Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Chap, xxviii. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



161 



word. The introduction of new springs of action, and 
a change in habits and associations, has always been 
found to let loose the evil inclinations of the incon- 
siderate multitude, who embrace a new creed from 
interested motives, and believe without conviction. 
The loosening of moral ties is an evil attendant 
upon all revolutions, but especially upon those in 
religion. 

The fact of caste over-burdening the people with cere- 
monies, may negatively tend to the introduction of Chris- 
tianity * Its regulations are so numerous, so minute, 
and extend to so many actions of a man's life, that 
even those attentive to their dictates, will find them- 
selves almost constantly in a state of impurity, and 
their caste forfeited. The Hindoos themselves, prac- 
tically neglect the greater part of them. The women, 
however, of the upper classes, shut up, as they are, 
in the zenana, with little or nothing to beguile their 
time, make it their chief business to think upon and 
practise this heap of superstitions. This, when a spirit 
of inquiry has been set abroad by means of the press, 
and the enlightening influence of education, will occa- 
sion, we fancy, the rapid progress of Christianity, 
The eyes of the natives will be suddenly opened to the 
full absurdity and obscenity of their religious cere- 
monies. When once their implicit faith in these has 

* Let any one who doubts this read the 4th chapter of the Code of 
Menu, " on Economics," and the 3rd, " on Diet ;" and Kurma Lochma, 
a Sanscrit work on domestic duties. See Hope's Letters on India, p. 
327. 

M 



162 



THE THEORY AND 



been shaken, we anticipate, that like most changes in 
the religion or sentiments of a nation, the action will 
be sudden and overpowering. Though it may not 
completely destroy caste, yet it will probably anni- 
hilate its opposition to Christianity, and in its violent 
course carry off many similar abuses. 

Other more minute circumstances, in which caste 
has reference to the conversion of India, we might 
enumerate, but sufficient has been said, to indicate its 
general effect, viz., that though in many points it may 
be highly antagonistic to Christianity, yet in some 
cases, its influence may be even favourable to its 
diffusion. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



163 



CHAPTER VI. 

EFFECTS OF CASTE ON THE PKOBABLE DESTINIES 
OF OUE INDIAN EMPIRE. 

" For what purpose has the great continent of India, with its vast 
resources and countless population, been placed under the rule of a 
small island in the western world ?" — Calcutta Review. 

The empire of British India stands alone in the his- 
tory of the globe. Our conquests, as rapid as they 
have been illustrious, have placed us in the possession 
of a dominion, of which no other country can offer an 
example. Hence we have no precedent to guide us in 
governing it. There has been no other nation simi- 
larly situated, and the page of history is in vain con- 
sulted to divine its destiny. Much of it, like the 
nations which came under the Roman power, has 
come into our possession, more through the divisions 
and quarrels of the native princes, and the force of 
political circumstances, than owing to any thirst of ours 
for dominion. " Augendae dominationi causam atque 
materiam prsebuit potius inconsulta hostium atque 
aemulorum pravitas quam illius ambitio," gives as true 



164 



THE THEORY AND 



a picture of the means by which, we acquired India, as 
it does of the rise of the Roman empire.* 

But here the resemblance ceases. Rome, the mis- 
tress of the then known world, was situated in the 
very centre of her subjects, who were nations of every 
language and family, possessing not one single bond of 
union, neither of race, religion, or policy. In the case of 
India, however, a company of Englishmen, who have 
but lately ceased to be merchants, and are themselves 
subject to the control of their own monarch, govern on 
this side of the globe, a compact mass of 120 millions 
of human beings, situated almost at the Antipodes. 
It is true that these are divided into different lan- 
guages and nations, but the majority have many 
feelings in common : all, for the most part, have the 
same religion, and probably all, without exception, in 
one form or other, pay strict obedience to the obliga- 
tions of caste.f The Roman, too, by his colonies and 
his military occupation of the country, more as an 
agriculturist than a conqueror, became a denizen of 
the soil ; " where the Roman conquered he inha- 
bited." J Every subject state was full of citizens, 
devotedly attached, as well by policy as by patriotism, 
to the rule of the central power, and ready for the 

* This is more or less true of the whole of the peninsula, even of that 
part which was secured to us hy the victories of Clive. Mysore, the 
Mahratta territory, Scinde, the country of the Sikhs, &c, are notorious 
instances. 

+ Considering Budhism and Braminism kindred religions, which is 
pretty nearly the case. 

I Gibbon's Decline and Fall, Chap. ii. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



165 



sake of interest, as well as bound by the tenure by 
which they held their property, to rise in its de- 
fence. 

In India our institutions have been of a different 
character. For many years it was the policy of the 
Company to exclude Europeans, and even their own 
servants, from permanently settling in the country. 
In many states at this moment, there is scarcely a 
single Englishman resident. We have been in India 
essentially a migratory people. Our rule is upheld 
more by the judicious application of our revenue, the 
strong arm of force, and a prevalent idea of our in- 
vincibility, than by other constitutional methods. In 
national governments a great crisis may occur, which 
is marked by the historian as one of danger ; in India 
every event is a crisis. A few men killed by de- 
coits require a company of troops to be sent ; if they 
are defeated, a battalion must be despatched ; if that 
be not sufficient, an army must at once be marched to 
the spot. We cannot retreat. It is the law of our 
existence as rulers of that empire, that we must not 
yield or give up a single point. Such is our condition, 
that not only the honour, but the power of the nation, 
is to be vindicated : the occasion of a small reverse 
has been known to vibrate through India for twenty 
years.* 

How are we to determine the probable effects of 
caste on a state of things like this ? The effects of an 

* Speech of General Sir John Malcolm in the Court of Directors, 
1833. 



166 



THE THEORY AND 



institution which has scarcely had a parallel in any 
nation, upon a government dissimilar from any which 
can be found in the page of history. 

Its effects upon the different governments of In- 
dostan which preceded that of the English, have, as 
far as can be learned, never been either very marked, 
or at all direct. What Paley has observed concerning 
the influence of Christianity upon politics is so de- 
scriptive of that of caste upon the institutions of India, 
that we cannot refrain from quoting his remarks : — 
"Its influence," says he, " is not to be sought for in the 
councils of princes, in the debates or resolutions of 
popular assemblies, in the conduct of governments 
towards their subjects, or of states and sovereigns 
towards one another ; of conquerors at the head of 
their armies, or of parties intriguing for power at 
home (topics which alone almost occupy the attention, 
and fill the pages of history); but must be perceived, if 
perceived at all, in the silent course of private and 
domestic life. Hence, it operates most upon those of 
whom history knows least ; upon fathers and mothers 
in their families ; upon men-servants and maid-ser- 
vants ; upon the orderly tradesman, the quiet villager. 
Amongst such, its influence collectively may be in- 
estimable ; yet its effects, in the mean time, little upon 
those who figure upon the stage of the world. It 
cannot, therefore, be thought strange, that this in- 
fluence should elude the grasp and touch of public 
history ; for what is public history but a register of the 
successes and disappointments, the vices, the follies 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



167 



and the quarrels of those who engage in contentions 
for power?" * 

Such is an exact picture of the way in which caste, 
so little noticed by historians, has influenced, and may 
yet influence the destinies of India. 

We will take it for granted, that whatever be the 
revolutions to which Indostan may be subject, Eu- 
ropeans will be the lords paramount, and Japhet will 
still dwell, as he ever has dwelt, in the tents of Shem. 
How many ages will elapse before the British shall 
cease to be the dominant people, it is impossible to 
form even a conjecture. Some will tell us that the 
prudence of our legislation, and the vigour of our 
policy, have left us little cause to fear for the stability 
of our empire; others, again, represent it as a vast 
pyramid, poised upon its apex ; its equilibrium might 
be destroyed by the slightest movement. They tell 
us, that the overthrow, nay, the very annihilation, not 
merely of European rule, but of the resident Eu- 
ropeans themselves, hangs over our head, suspended, 
like the sword of Damocles, by a single thread. If, 
however, Britain be herself secure — if the sword and 
the purse be, for the future, as judiciously employed as 
they have been in times past — if the valour of our 
armies shall only be equalled by the generous use 
which is made of their victories — if our policy ever be, 
" parcere devictis, et debellare superbos " — if, by pre- 
serving peace and prosperity, we render the natives 
interested in our rule — if, by carefully avoiding every 
* Evidences of Christianity, Vol. i. p. 432. 



168 



THE THEORY AND 



measure which may shock their prejudices or arouse 
their superstitious feelings, we avert religious insur- 
rections — a long period may safely be assigned to our 
dominion in the East. 

The question of the right by which we hold so 
many countries under our sway matters but little. 
Our dominion is primarily founded upon our might. 
We can safely affirm that, whatever else it might be, 
it was not thirst for conquest, or for empty glory, 
which made us masters of India. For those who 
might advocate our relinquishing that country, it is 
only necessary to consider what would be the awful 
results of such a step, not to our own country, but to 
the natives themselves. The great plain of India is 
fruitful, and covered with populous and opulent cities. 
Its is surrounded with nations as robust and warlike 
as its own inhabitants are cowardly, feeble, and iner- 
getic. If the English were to desert them, these 
would descend upon the prey in wild confusion. The 
Sikhs from the Punjab, the Nepaulese from the 
Himalays, the Mahrattas from the South, and the 
Burmans from the East, would each carve for him- 
self an empire out of our possessions. Like the horse 
in the fable, the Hindoos are incapable of putting 
forth their best speed in the race of civilization, with- 
out the assistance of the rider to animate their exer- 
tions and direct their course. There cannot be a 
question, but that the progress of their civilization will 
be greater in our hands, than in those of the barba- 
rians who surround them. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



169 



In every part of India, however, there are indi- 
viduals who bear our yoke with impatience, and would 
willingly join in any well-organized scheme for re- 
covering their independence. The Nizam and the 
King of Oude would be only too glad to free them- 
selves from the thraldom of our political residents. He 
of the Golden Slipper, the Emperor of Burmah, has 
already done so, and is again trying a fall with our 
Eastern power. Almost every native prince, and mul- 
titudes of Mahometans, have a latent feeling of dis- 
affection. It is not many years since there was dis- 
covered in the petty fortress of an Indian prince 
ammunition sufficient for a considerable army. The 
Rajah Nawab, of Berhampore, treated with regal 
state at Calcutta, committed suicide rather than be 
amenable to the English law. The number, however, 
of those who thus impatiently endure our sway, is 
daily diminishing. Time is wearing away old-rooted 
antipathies, those of colour, of religion, and of caste. 
The enlightened policy and the gigantic strength of 
the Company are beginning to be seen. The Sikhs 
are already settling down into a peaceful nation. The 
Hindoos of Scinde bless the issue of the sanguinary 
struggle at Meeanee, which broke for ever the power 
of their tyrants, the Ameers, and their myrmidons, the 
Beloochees.* 

Independently, however, of these considerations, where 
shall we find in the page of history one example of a 
people, permanently conquered by a braver and more 

* MacFarlane, Vol. ii. p. 407, 



170 



THE THEORY AND 



civilized race than themselves, regaining their liberty 
and independence, and expelling their conquerors. Of 
Europeans, again, who is there to dispossess the Anglo- 
Saxon race ? We are masters of the Indian Ocean. 
We hold nearly every point of commercial and politi- 
cal importance throughout the Eastern archipelago. 
In those seas we need fear no rival. We are masters 
of the Khyber Pass, and other entrances to India 
from the north ; between us and the Russian frontier, 
lies a journey of at least three months,* through a 
country almost impassable, so that an invasion through 
the Himalays, reports of which were at one time so 
rife, is but a wild chimera. 

Our institutions, then, will probably become those 
of India, as far as their introduction is practicable. 
Of them a popular form of government, the repre- 
sentative system, is a leading feature. Whether there 
will ever be found materials in India for such a con- 
stitution, time only can unfold. Popular government 
appears to be an idea peculiar to the Japhetic race. 
The Asiatics seem always to have preferred despo- 
tism. Caste, by the mutual jealousies and indiffe- 
rence which it excites, will doubtless for a long time 
frustrate the attempts at coalition, which a repre- 
sentative system presupposes. 

Possibly for each caste or tribe representatives 
might now be chosen, and give expression to the feel- 
ings of the people, as true and as genuine as mem- 

* Between Khiva or Balk and the Himalays. Pamphlet on Kussian - 
invasion. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



171 



bers of our own parliament now do to the opinions of 
the majority of their constituents. But many of the 
castes are so divided, both in place of residence and 
points of common interest, as well as so unimportant, 
that no system of this description could be of universal 
application. When, however, the sharp points of caste 
have been rubbed down, and the particulars in which 
its effects are practically injurious have been abolished, 
then its reliques may merely stand to preserve some 
grades in society which are necessary to its well-being, 
but present no obstacles to political freedom. 

Among the ancient Egyptians — a nation whose 
customs in many points bore a resemblance to those 
of the Hindoos — caste endured unscathed the invasion 
of the Persians, a people unaccustomed to a liberal 
form of government. Before the free and enlightened 
institutions of the Grecian conquerors it fell for ever. 
Such will, doubtless, be the case in India. Caste has 
survived every previous invasion of the country, and 
even imbued the invaders with its spirit. These, how- 
ever, like the Persians of old, were but the minions 
of an Oriental despot. Far different is the character 
of its present lords. Under a government liberal and 
enlightened as ours, the progression of an intelligent 
people, such as the Hindoos, must necessarily be 
towards civilization and Christianity. 

The effects of caste upon the future institutions of 
India may, in some respects, be not dissimilar to 
those of feudalism upon the frame of society in 
Europe. In fact, in Behar, Malwa, Guzerat, and some 



172 



THE THEORY AND 



other parts of the peninsula, caste bears more the 
character of feudalism than its own peculiar features.* 
It will, doubtless, be an institution, whose modification 
will be the constant aim of Indian statesmen. It will 
be a something whose traditions and whose memorials 
will give a steadiness to society, which may do much 
to counteract the indifference of the Hindoos to those 
feelings, which in other countries are the distinctives 
of patriotism. 

Caste has performed its office in the civilization of 
India, and saved that country from a long age of 
barbarism. " Necessity," it is true, " is the mother 
of invention ;" but it is no less so, that her offspring 
will never come to maturity, unless she have strength 
and leisure to rear it. In India as in Egypt caste was 
its nursing mother. Many a useful discovery, which 
in other countries would have been lost to society, for 
want of time to record and consolidate them, it has 
preserved and handed down to posterity. The press, 
which for many years back has performed this office in 
the West, is already beginning to be felt in the East : 
caste is, then, no longer of necessity to the existence of 
the arts. Its practical utility is gone. It will, doubt- 
less, for many years hence, exist among the preju- 
diced and bigoted ; but it will have little influence on 
affairs of moment or importance. One after another, 
its regulations will be so habitually broken that they 
will vanish ; every infringement will pave the way for 

* See Asiatic Researches, Vol. xv. p. 219 ; and Sir J. Malcolm's 
Report of Malwa, p. 375. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



173 



others ; the progress of civilization will prevent any 
new rules from being received ; and caste in time will 
quietly expire. In fact, even now the flame of super- 
stition is beginning to burn low ; and it is the opinion 
of Hindoos well acquainted with the subject, that were 
caste to be enforced in all its strictness, there would be 
few families which would be wholly safe.* 

The institutions of India must necessarily be of a 
complicated nature, and affected by influences the 
causes of which are often so distant and minute, as 
to entirely escape notice. Of these, caste is one whose 
effects may be most powerful, and yet the cause be so 
involved with others, as to be incapable of separation. 
If the question were merely the civilization of a people 
who had no institutions of their own, it could very 
easily be solved. The Company have not had a block 
of marble to shape into any figure they pleased ; but a 
ready-formed image, badly sculptured, to mould and 
polish with the consent of hosts of jealous guardians, 
so as to attain a high degree of beauty. They have 
found, and they will find, marks and indentations 
which, according to European notions, may be out of 
character, and the causes for which they cannot divine. 
These will affect their workmanship, and in many 
instances, perhaps, disfigure it. Caste will be one of 
these ; but where or how its effects will be most plainly 
discerned it were difficult to say. 

As yet, among other causes, it has in many parts 

* Hope's Letters on India. Heber often speaks of caste weighing 
ing less on men's minds than it used to do. See Vol. i. p. 327. 



174 



THE THEORY AND 



of India tended to keep the land divided into small 
farms, so that the same ryot is both labourer, farmer, 
and landlord. Whether this altogether spring from 
caste, or was partly caused by our destroying so 
many of the zemindars and polygars* who, under the 
Mogul government, did not differ much from the great 
English landlords, has hardly been determined. If 
we refer it, as we did the village system, to the former 
cause, how will it affect the future welfare of India ? 
Under the lawless powers who held the great plain of 
Indostan, before the rule of the British, we have seen 
how much this system secured an amount of individual 
liberty, which would otherwise have been lost. Under 
the English Government and English laws they can 
have no such power. Our stern, unwavering rule 
secures them as much personal freedom as is con- 
sistent with the common weal ; but it admits of no 
power besides its own. Before its own courts, and not 
to the village chubootra, to be tried by a partial pun- 
chayet\ — a jury, perhaps, often as guilty as the offender 
— must a criminal now ultimately be brought. The 
political and judicial power of the village system is for 
the most part gone ; there remain, however, its minute 
divisions and subdivisions of property, which we are 

* These were tributary Hindoo chiefs, by whose agency the Mogul 
sovereigns collected their tributes, and exercised an indirect au- 
thority over those parts of their empire which were never thoroughly 
subdued. 

+ This is a jury or court of arbitrators chosen by the parties to try 
the case. We still allow of its decisions in cases involving questions of 
the custom of the country, or the caste, &c. 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



175 



afraid will long have the effect of preventing the em- 
ployment of any large amount of capital, and of keep- 
ing it in minute quantities, spread about the country, 
and in this way will materially hinder the improve- 
ment and prosperity of India. 

Possibly the abolition of the Mahometan law of 
succession, and the introduction of a law of partial 
entail, might do much to obviate the disadvantages 
arising from these circumstances ; but as long as we 
find, as we do find, the system of caste so strong, that 
even the rights of ownership and property are neg- 
lected in obedience to its dictates, we must expect to 
see the ryot what he is — a poor embarrassed land- 
owner — and the resources of the country undeveloped 
for want of capital. 

Our Government have of late done much to obviate 
this evil. The bitter reproach of Burke, that we had 
constructed in India no public works of utility — that if 
we were to desert the country to-morrow, we should 
leave no more traces of our dominion than the ourang- 
outang, or the tiger — is no longer true. The stately 
monuments of the Mahometan rule may sometimes 
surpass our Government works in splendour, but in 
utility they admit of no contrast. We found canals, 
originally formed for the purposes of traffic or irriga- 
tion, fallen into disrepair and useless.* We have ren- 
dered most of them efficient, have formed others, and 
projected still more. What is far more important, we 
have introduced into India steam, that grand agent of 

* Campbell's India, p. 30. 



176 



THE THEORY AND 



modern civilization. Engines, stationary and locomo- 
tive, are everywhere growing into use. Steamboats 
ply on its principal rivers, and in defiance of the mon- 
soons, at every season of the year, waft its traffic to 
foreign climes. To preserve and increase internal 
intercourse, a grand network of railways has been 
projected by Government, and portions of it already 
completed. These are objects which will civilize the 
natives, and promote the prosperity of the country, in 
defiance of deep-rooted prejudices. Before irresistible 
agents like these, we may expect the absurdities and 
inconveniences of caste, if not to vanish, at any rate 
quietly to succumb. 

The new policy of appointing natives as moonsiffs, or 
inferior judges, and in some instances subjecting even 
Europeans to their jurisdiction, may (especially if such 
appointments be given as a reward for distinction in 
our schools) have a considerable influence on caste. 
Natives will pride themselves on other matters than 
the rank which has been awarded to them by Menu. 
At our government schools, they often attain great 
proficiency in science ; but the early age at which they 
marry, and the want of any further objects of emula- 
tion, in general cause them to relinquish their studies, 
and rapidly degenerate. This, however, will not be 
the case, if numerous lucrative appointments are pro- 
posed for their ambition. The habit of despising the 
natives, too common among the old civilians, will 
give way to respect for their attainments. When 
they are no longer treated with contempt, we may 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



177 



expect that they will be eager to render themselves 
worthy of our good opinion, and emancipate them- 
selves from prejudice and superstition. 

With regard to the future religion of India, we have 
already noticed, at length, many particulars in which 
caste hinders, as well as several in which it may be 
supposed materially to forward, the introduction of 
Christianity. We assume, and we think rightly, that 
our religion is making its way into the hearts of the 
people of India, and that it will ultimately prevail, to 
the exclusion both of Mahometanism and Hinduism. 

We are inclined to hope that the period is not long 
distant, which will solve the question of the effects of 
caste upon the conversion of the people. Already a 
spirit of inquiry, fanned by more frequent intercourse 
with Europeans, and the uncontrollable influence of 
the press, has gone forth. Already there have been 
" great searchings of heart." Several, even farmers 
and others, who live at a considerable distance from 
any English station, have spontaneously visited the 
clergy and missionaries for the purpose of asking 
questions concerning our faith. The idol car of Shiva 
is moved with greater difficulty by his lukewarm wor- 
shippers. In the loamy lanes of southern India it is 
no unfrequent thing for the car of Indra to be be- 
sloughed, and for the collector to issue an order for 
its removal, before the indifferent villagers of Tanjore 
will take measures for dragging it home again to its 
sanctuary.* Self-immolation is becoming less common. 

* Jesuit in India, by Father Strickland. 

N 



178 



THE THEORY AND 



Slavery, infanticide, and suttees, have been abolished 
by law, and their abolition has been readily acquiesced 
in by the better part of the natives themselves. 

Some of the Bramins and pundits, with the intel- 
ligent Ram Mohun Roy, have embraced Christianity. 
Political circumstances have led to many of the Rajahs 
being brought up in the families of English gentlemen, 
where they have almost invariably imbibed the highest 
respect for our religion, as well as affection for their 
guardians. Such men will naturally have lost many 
of their prejudices, whilst they have formed a more 
correct idea of our institutions than the generality of 
their countrymen ; and will, doubtless, be often ready 
to join our ranks, and assist by their example our mis- 
sionary efforts. 

In addition to which, men who have mixed long 
with the - natives in the more remote parts of India, 
and are well acquainted with their sentiments, have 
asserted that a very general feeling now exists, that 
some great crisis in their religious polity is at hand, 
and that Hinduism will be supplanted by Christianity. 
As is usual in such cases, old prophecies are raked up, 
to become pregnant with meaning. 

At Benares there stood a pillar, which was a beau- 
tiful shaft of one stone, forty feet high, covered with 
the most exquisite carving, and dedicated to the god 
Shiva. A tradition concerning it had long been cur- 
rent among the people, that it was formerly twice as 
high ; was gradually sinking into the ground ; and 
when its summit should be level with the earth, all 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



179 



nations were to be of one caste, and the religion of 
Brahma to have an end. Daring a disturbance, a 
description of which we have previously given, which 
happened at Benares a few years before Heber's visit, 
between the Hindoos and Mahometans, during which 
the former had thrown slaughtered hogs into the 
mosques, and the latter had polluted the Hindoo 
temples, and especially a well of peculiar sanctity, by 
smearing them with cows' blood ; this identical pillar 
was thrown down. The occurrence, connected with 
the excited state of the public mind, and the atrocities 
which had been committed, was universally regarded as 
an omen fatal to Hinduism. Again, there is a prophecy 
that the sanctity of Hurdwar will cease in about forty 
years from the present time, when pilgrimages will no 
longer be performed thither. In all parts, too, of India 
there are various traditions and prophecies current 
among the people, all indicating a time when the Bra- 
minical creed shall be laid aside, and all nations be of 
one caste. # 

In conclusion, we must again call attention to the 
magnitude of our Indian empire, the variety of tribes 
and nations which possess it, and the diversity of their 
habits and opinions. That though caste in one form 
or other exists throughout the whole Peninsula, yet it 
is everywhere modified by particular customs and re- 
gulations. Our observations then have, as far as pos- 
sible, been general, and have had reference, not so much 
to the particular regulations of caste, as to its general 

* Shore's India, Vol. ii. p. 468. 



180 



THE THEORY AND 



spirit. This, there can be no doubt, is gradually losing 
its influence. Although it may on the whole have 
been productive of more evil than good, its abolition, 
to be beneficial, must take place, as probably will be 
the case, gradually. Otherwise one check upon morals 
and the disorganization of society would be removed, 
before another was imposed. 

It will die away by degrees, as the people become 
better educated and more enlightened. The institu- 
tion of schools on a liberal plan for the benefit of the 
rising generation in the upper, as well as the lower 
ranks of life, will do more, probably, to removing the 
prejudices of the natives, in regard to caste and re- 
ligion, than direct attempts at conversion. 

When a greater diffusion of general knowledge 
shall have taken place — " when they cease to con_ 
sider Mount Meru as twenty thousand miles high, and 
the world as a flower, of which India is the cup, and 
other countries the leaves — their minds may become 
more open to rational views on the subject of re- 
ligion." When they shall cease to believe that the 
principal town of Lanca, or Ceylon, is surrounded by 
a wall of pure gold, and contains palaces of peerless 
magnitude — when their terrible dread of the Kala 
panee, or black, black sea, shall give way to more 
rational ideas — when they shall no longer so im- 
plicitly believe that for three parts of every day the 
Almighty is seated personally, though invisibly, on 
the rock of Chunar — then we may expect to see the 
absurdities of their polytheism to vanish. But whether 



PRACTICE OF CASTE. 



181 



caste, which is so intimately connected with them, 
will be a partaker of their downfall, or will survive, 
though in a modified form — whether its effects on 
the institutions of India will gradually become less 
distinct, and its influence so indirect as to be inappre- 
ciable — or whether, which we are inclined to suppose 
will be the result, after Christianity has supplanted all 
these, its regulations will still continue in force, and 
defy the efforts of moralists and politicians for their 
suppression, we leave to the hand of Time to unfold. 

In contemplating that vast empire, won by the 
most undaunted valour and the most consummate 
skill, it is impossible not to glow with exultation at 
the glorious prospect which its acquisition has opened 
to Great Britain. It presents a field in which, under 
Providence, the happiness of nearly one-eighth of the 
whole human race depends upon our exertions. To 
gain an acquaintance, then, with the character and 
condition of the people of India, can be no unprofitable 
study for Englishmen ; especially at the present 
moment, when the revision of the Charter of the East 
India Company again puts it in our power to legislate 
for their welfare. 

Indian affairs are but imperfectly understood in 
England. Few find leisure, and still fewer have in- 
clinatiou or opportunity, to dive into intricate ques- 
tions about Nizams and Dewans, about Ryots and 
Tehsildars, about Adauluts and Punchayets. We are 
but partially acquainted with those various circum- 
stances and contingencies, those recondite sources of 



182 THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CASTE. 

influence, which uphold that opinion of interest and 
power in the native mind, which is the ultimate foun- 
dation of all our authority and legislation. 

Consider the solemnity which this question demands, 
and the important position which caste occupies in its 
investigation, and any, even the slightest contribution 
to our knowledge of its bearings, should not be alto- 
gether devoid of interest. 



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but a mixture of all three j containing good and instructive matter, much local know- 
ledge of Buenos Ayres, and information concerning the Banda Oriental, and 
Paraguay." — Athenaeum. 

II. 

THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 

A NARRATIVE OF THE OPERATIONS AT RANGOON. 

By Lieut. WILLIAM F. B. LAURIE, Madras Artillery. 
Post 8vo, with Map, Plans, and Views. Price ioj. 6d. cloth. 

" The events of the current campaign are here condensed into a well-replenished 
volume, written on the very theatre of war, and illustrated by skilfully-drawn plans of 
each important scene of action. A concise account of the Burmese Empire is furnished 
by the author, who combines with his talent for research a lively style of narrative." 
— Globe. 

" The work before us is a military narrative, told in the cheerful tone of an officer 
who is proud of his profession, and anxious to do justice to his comrades : there is 
nothing about himself. It is illustrated by plans, views, and sections, and is calculated 
to remove many erroneous impressions as to the character of the second Burmese war." 
— Literary Gazette. 

" This volume exhibits war in its details, as seen by the subaltern, and in its larger 
aspects as picked up from the gossip and criticism of the camp. Mr. Laurie varies 
actual warfare by the antiquities of the country, and a description of the temples and 
tenets of Gaudama — a variety of Buddhism." — Spectator. 

III. 

KAFFRARIA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 

By the Rev. FRANCIS P. FLEMING, Military Chaplain, 
King William's Town. Post 8vo. With Illustrations. 
Price js. 6d. cloth. 

" An informing, close, and neatly- written account of the history, natural features, 
and productions of the Cape territory, with descriptions of the native tribes 5 animated 
by original knowledge, the result of personal experience, and illustrated by graphic 
sketches of the scenery of South Africa." — Spectator. 

"An excellent account of the country and tribes of Kaffraria from an eye-witness; 
with a sketch of Kaffir customs, rites, and ceremonies." — Britannia. 

"The book may be read with profit by all who wish to master the South African 
question." — Daily News. 



4 



BOOKS PUBLISHED BY 



i&efo jftcttons. 



i. 

AMABEL : Or, THE VICTORY OF LOVE. 
By MARY ELIZABETH WORMELEY. 
In Three Volumes. 

44 This fiction displays ability of a high kind. Miss Wormeley has considerable 
knowledge of society, much skill in depicting its persons and salient features, with 
the penetration to pierce below the surface. She is gifted, besides, with consider- 
able power of reflection, and her manner is easy and effective. The characters are 
well conceived and sustained ; many of the latter parts possess considerable and rapid 
interest, and the composition is buoyant and animated." — Spectator. 

" 4 Amabel' embodies four great phases of a woman's life, of which love is the 
active element, is remarkable for intensity of sentiment, for its vigorous and polished 
diction, great range of scene and character, and for an originality and energy, developed 
by the principal persons figuring in it, who are all drawn by a master hand ; and it 
is, in effect, perfect as a work of its class, and may be looked upon as a decided suc- 
cess." — Weekly Dispatch. 

" An exceedingly interesting story, developed with fine womanly tact, and related 
in a style at once simple, polished, and eloquent. To enforce the moral that love, 
the principle, not the passion, infused into our duties, works its own reward, is the 
task undertaken by the writer of this pathetic and deeply affecting story, and that 
moral is beautifully held up to admiration and adoption throughout the chequered 
career of the heroine Amabel, in whose affliction and recompenses the reader feels a 
lively interest." — Globe. 

44 This work is of a very high order ; scarcely inferior to 4 Ruth,' with which, 
indeed, it has much in common. Miss Wormeley writes with a flow of fresh and 
healthy sentiment, affording proof that she has followed the human emotions to their 
source. The characters are living men and women." — Weekly Chronicle. 

44 There is a deep meaning in this tale. The characters are exceedingly well- 
drawn ; that of the heroine in particular. In the latter portion of the work the in- 
terest is of the deepest kind ; the force and pathos of its final scenes are enough to 
entitle the authoress to consideration, and of the highest order." — Sun. 

" Miss Wormeley imparts to her scenes and characters an interest which must 
place them in the first class of fiction. The trials of Amabel, her Christian love, the 
fountain of pure integrity, that gives freshness to her whole life, make her a study for 
everyone's improvement. The book contains moving spirit, stirring absorbing scenes 
and events, and the persons are real flesh and blood." — Morning Advertiser. 

" This is one of the best novels which have lately come under our notice. The 
story is a perfect romance of real life. The authoress has an easy, graceful style, her 
dialogues are animated and natural, and her descriptions truthful and attractive. 
* Amabel' is a remarkable work. It is rife with interest; the principal character is 
beautifully and truly drawn. Let our readers procure these delightful volumes." — 
Sunday Times. 

44 * Amabel' is a good addition to fictitious literature; it inculcates true principles, 
and is written with a purpose that everyone must appreciate. It contains some power- 
ful writing, and reflections that strike us by their truth and depth of observation. 
Miss Wormeley's power lies in her knowledge of the female heart : every turn, every 
stage of love, from the mere passion to the principle." — Court Journal. 

44 A charming tale, which will delight the taste and elevate the mind. For vigour 
of delineation and freshness of manner, it is one of the very best specimens of fiction 
that has come before us this season." — Belt's Messenger. 

" 4 Amabel' has many passages of great power, and more of truthful pathos." — 
Britannia. 

<® « 



SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 



5 



ISzto Jettons, 
ii. 

THE SCHOOL FOR DREAMERS. 
By T. GWYNNE, Esq., Author of "The School for 
Fathers." One Volume, crown 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. 

"The master- limner of the follies of mankind, the author of 'The School for 
Fathers,' has produced another tale to the full as attractive as the former, and abound- 
ing with traits of exquisite humour and sallies of sparkling wit. The book is, what 
few books are, a rich treat." — John Bull. 

" ' The School for Dreamers ' may be credited with life, humour, and vigour. 
There is a spirit of enjoyment in Mr. Gwynne's descriptions which indicates a genial 
temperament, as well as a shrewd eye." — Athenceum. 

" Mr. Gwynne touches the conventional absurdities as well as the proprieties of 
life with a masterly hand, and by a few strokes of singular delicacy lays bare the follies 
and the sensibilities of mankind." — Bell's Messenger. 

<c A story which inculcates a sound and sensible moral in a manner equally delight- 
ful and effective. The style is fresh, fragrant, and vigorous j the characters are 
strongly marked, and the incidents interwoven with skill and ingenuity." — Morning 
Post. 

" There is pith in the writing. The descriptions, whether of persons or things, 
are true and life-like. The personages, too, are realities, and talk and act naturally. 
Throughout the story, the reader's attention never flags." — Critic. 

" There is purpose in the present story. It is in effect a biting satire upon 
ultra-devotion to the crude and undigested mouthings of the leveller and the 
socialist." — Weekly Dispatch. 

" ( The School for Dreamers,' a powerfully and skilfully-written book, is intended 
to show the mischief and danger of following imagination instead of judgment in the 
practical business of life. The characters of the tale are ably sketched, and the inci- 
dents effectively described." — Literary Gazette. 

" An admirable and caustic satire on ' equality and fraternity' theories." — 
Britannia. 

III. 

THE SCHOOL FOR FATHERS ; An Old English Story. 
By T. Gwynne. Crown 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. 

" The pleasantest tale we have read for many a day. It is a story of the Tatler 
and Spectator days, and is very fitly associated with that time of good English literature 
by its manly feeling, direct, unaffected manner of writing, and nicely-managed, well- 
turned narrative. The characters have all of them the air of reality — the charm 
derivable only from what one feels to have been sincerely observed ; and the effect is 
genuine and perfectly satisfactory. The descriptions are excellent; some of the 
country painting is as fresh as a landscape by Constable, or an idyl by Alfred Tenny- 
son." — Examiner. 

" A hale, hearty, unaffected, honest, downright English tale — such a one as is very 
rarely met with in these days. A vigorous painting of English men and manners, by 
an artist who is thoroughly national in his genius, taste, education, and prejudices. 
Few are the tales so interesting to read, and so admirable in purpose and style, as 
« The School for Fathers.' "—Globe. 

u ' The School for Fathers' is at once highly amusing and deeply interesting — full 
of that genuine humour which is half pathos — and written with a freshness of feel- 
ing and raciness of style which entitle it to be called a tale in the Vicar of Wakefield 
school. It is a tale to amuse and instruct both old and young, and which we should 
wish to see in the hands of our sons and daughters." — Britannia. 



BOOKS PUBLISHED BY 



Currer 9UtV% J^efo Jetton. 



VILLETTE. By CURRER BELL, 
Author of " Jane Eyre," " Shirley," &c. 
In Three Volumes^ Post 8vo, Price ll. lis. 6d. 



" This book would have made Currer Bell famous had she not been already. It 
retrieves all the ground she lost in 4 Shirley,' and it will engage a wider circle of readers 
than ' Jane Eyre,' for it has all the best qualities of that remarkable book. There is 
throughout a charm of freshness which is infinitely delightful : freshness in observa- 
tion, freshness in feeling, freshness in expression. Brain and heart are both held in 
suspense by the fascinating power of the writer." — Literary Gazette. 

" This novel amply sustains the fame of the author of £ Jane Eyre' and * Shirley' 
as an original and powerful writer. * Villette ' is a most admirably written novel, 
everywhere original, everywhere shrewd, and at heart everywhere kindly. The men, 
women, and children who figure throughout it have flesh and blood in them, and all 
are worked out in such a way as to evince a very keen spirit of observation, and a fine 
sense of the picturesque in character." — Examiner. 

" The tale is one of the affections, and remarkable as a picture of manners. A 
burning heart glows throughout it, and one brilliantly distinct character keeps it alive. 
The oldest man, the sternest, who is a genuine novel-reader, will find it hard to get 
out of Madame Beck's school, when he has once entered there with Lucy Snowe, 
and made acquaintance with the choleric, vain, child-like, and noble-hearted M. Paul 
Emanuel." — Athenaum. 

" Of interesting scenes and well-drawn characters there is abundance. The charac- 
ters are various, happily conceived, and some of them painted with a truth of detail 
rarely surpassed. The style of 1 Villette ' has that clearness and power which are the 
result of mastery over the thoughts and feelings to be expressed, over the persons and 
scenes to be described." — Spectator. 

" 'Villette may claim the unhesitating commendations of readers and critics. The 
autobiography of the heroine is at once natural, interesting, cheerful, piquant, and 
th ou ghtful. ' ' — Britannia. 

" 4 Villette ' is not only a very able but a very pleasant book. It is a tale which, 
though here and there it is dashed with wonder and melancholy, is as a whole cheer- 
ful and piquant ; abundant in clear, clear-cut, strongly-drawn etchings, presenting so 
pleasant and effective a transcript of manners, English and Continental, that its success 
cannot fail to be remarkable." — Morning Chronicle. 

" Everything written by Currer Bell is remarkable. She can touch nothing with- 
out leaving on it the stamp of originality. Of her three novels this is perhaps the 
strangest, the most astonishing, though not the best. The sustained ability is perhaps 
greater in u Villette" than in its two predecessors. The whole three volumes are 
crowded with beauties ; with good things, for which we look to the clear sight, deep 
feeling, and singular though not extensive experience of life, which we associate with 
the name of Currer Bell." — Daily Nexus. 

" The author of ' Jane Eyre ' and 1 Shirley ' has again produced a fiction of extra- 
ordinary literary power, and of singular fascination ; it is one of the most absorbing of 
books, one of the most interesting of stories. ( Villette ' will add immensely to the 
author of * Jane Eyre's ' fame, as a philosophical and analytical expositor of the human 
heart and feelings." — Globe. 



SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 



7 



ESMOND. By W. M. THACKERAY, 

Author of " Pendennis," " Vanity Fair," &c. 
Second Edition. 
In Three Volumes^ Crown Svo, Price ll. lis, 6d. 



" A second edition of " Esmond " within a few weeks of the issue of the first, 
speaks significantly for Mr. Thackeray's growing popularity. . . . Mr. Thackeray 
has selected for his hero a very noble type of the cavalier softening into the man 
of the eighteenth century, and for his heroine one of the sweetest women that ever 
breathed from canvass or from book, since RafFaelle painted and Shakspeare wrote. 
Esmond will, we think, rank higher as a work of art than " Vanity Fair" or " Pen- 
dennis," because the characters are of a higher type, and drawn with greater finish, 
and the book is more of a complete whole. The style is manly, clear, terse, and 
vigorous, reflecting every mood — pathetic, grave, or sarcastic — of the writer." — 
Spectator. 

" Once more we feel that we have before us a masculine and thorough English 
writer, uniting the power of subtle analysis with a strong volition and a moving 
eloquence — an eloquence which has gained in richness and harmony. His pathos is 
now sweeter, — less jarred against by angry sarcasm, but perhaps scarcely so powerful. 
Esmond must be read, not for its characters, but for its romantic though improbable 
plot, its spirited grouping, and its many thrilling utterances of the anguish of the human 
heart. Having reached the middle of the first volume, " forward" will be the wish 
of every reader of this highly-wrought work." — Athenaeum. 

" The interest of ' Esmond' is, in the main, purely human interest. The story is 
more than anything a family story. The effect is as if you had suddenly come into 
that old time as into a chamber ; and the light you see things by is that of the warm 
domestic fire blazing there. By that light you see the faces of the painted old ladies, 
and the jolly men of letters, and the great lords, and the brave soldiers. The book is 
as interesting as any previous book of the author's, and more absolutely real than any 
historical novel since Scott's early ones." — Daily News. 

" We have at once to express in the warmest terms of praise our appreciation of 
the skill and taste with which * Esmond ' is written. The story of the novel is 
ingenious and very elegantly constructed, and carried onward so as to gratify constant 
curiosity until the end. In short, the book thoroughly occupies our minds with a 
sense of strength on the part of the writer, of which the manifestation is always 
made gracefully." — Examiner. 

" In quiet richness, * Esmond' mainly resembles the old writers ; as it does also in 
weight of thought, sincerity of purpose, and poetry of the heart and brain. It is wise 
and sweet in its recesses of thought and feeling ; and is more hopeful, consolatory, and 
kindly than * Vanity Fair.' Thinking and educated readers will discern in it an 
immense advance in literary power over Mr. Thackeray's previous writings." — Frasers 
Magazine. 

" This is the best work of its kind that has been published for many years, 'f As 
a picture of the social life and manners of English society in the reign of Queen Anne, 
it must long remain unrivalled. The characters dress, think, speak, and act, just as 
the men and women did in the time of Queen Anne $ they are not mere puppets — 
Mr. Thackeray's genius makes them live." — Atlas. 



8 



BOOKS PUBLISHED BY 



moxU of fflx. Muslim. 



I. 

THE STONES OF VENICE. Volume the First. The 

Foundations. 

With Twenty-One Plates and numerous Woodcuts. Imperial 8vo, 2/. 2*. in 
embossed cloth, with top edge gilt. 

"The book before us contains Mr. Ruskin's theory and doctrines of the elements 
of architecture, applied to the various points of practical building. Throughout is 
manifest the great aim of inculcating, by every possible form of precept and example, 
the absolute necessity of preserving an unfailing correspondence between the desti- 
nations of buildings, and their forms and decorations. Mr. Ruskin's book cannot be 
read by any one without improvement to his moral sense and mental discipline. The 
book has an indestructible value. It tells us the truth on much where it greatly 
imports us to be informed. The eloquence of the book is extraordinary." — Examiner. 

" At once popular and profound, this book will be gratefully hailed by a circle of 
readers even larger than Mr. Ruskin has found for his previous works. He has so 
written as to catch the ear of all kinds of persons." — Literary Gazette. 

" The reputation which Mr. Ruskin has earned by his former works will probably 
receive a great accession of lustre from * The Stones of Venice.' This work, as 
we had a right to expect from the age and evidently growing powers of the author, 
may be justly described as his most valuable performance, and fitted to become the 
most popular of all his productions." — British Quarterly Review. 

" Mr. Ruskin has seized on the great principle that all art is the expression of man's 
delight in God's work. This is his clue through the universe ; holding fast by that, 
he can never get far wrong. His pursuit of truth is as admirable for its clear- 
sightedness as it is for its honesty." — Eclectic Review. 

** We adjudge this to be an excellent book, and a valuable assistance, if studied 
with caution, to students of art. The matter is weighty and suggestive ; the style, 
both forcible and beautiful 5 the lucid order of the composition, admirable." — Archi- 
tectural Quarterly Review. 

* # * The Second Volume is in the Press. 
11. 

EXAMPLES of THE ARCHITECTURE of VENICE, 
Selected and Drawn to Measurement from the Edifices. 

Ncnv in course of publication, im Parts, of Folio Imperial size. 
Each containing Five Plates, and a short explanatory text, price il. is. each. 
Parts One to Three are published. 
Fifty India Proofs only are taken on Atlas Folio, price 2I. zs. each Part. 

» — — 



SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 



9 



aSKorfc* of JtfU. Ulusiun. 



in. 

THE SEVEN LAMPS OF ARCHITECTURE. 

With Fourteen Etchings by the Author. Imp. 8vo, i/. is. 

" By the * Seven Lamps of Architecture,' we understand Mr. Ruskin to mean 
the seven fundamental and cardinal laws, the observance of and obedience to which 
are indispensable to the architect who would deserve the name. The politician, the 
moralist, the divine, will find in it ample store of instructive matter^ as well as the 
artist." — Examiner. 

IV. 

MODERN PAINTERS. Imperial 8vo. Vol. I. Fifth 
Edition^ 18*. cloth. Vol. II. Third Edition^ \Os. 6d. cloth. 

" Mr. Ruskin's work will send the painter more than ever to the study of nature ; 
will train men who have always been delighted spectators of nature, to be also atten- 
tive observers. Our critics will learn to admire, and mere admirers will learn how to 
criticise : thus a public will be educated." — Blackwood's Magazine. 

" A generous and impassioned review of the works of living painters. A hearty 
and earnest work, full of deep thought, and developing great and striking truths in 
art." — British Quarterly Review. 

" A very extraordinary and delightful book, full of truth and goodness, of power and 
beauty." — North British Re-view. 

" One of the most remarkable works on art which has appeared in our time." — 
Edinburgh Review. 

The Third Volume is in preparation, 
v. 

PRE-RAPHAELITISM. 8vo, 2s. sewed. 

" We wish that this pamphlet might be largely read by our art-patrons, and studied 
by our art-critics. There is much to be collected from it which it is very important 
to remember." — Guardian. 

VI. 

THE KING OF THE GOLDEN RIVER ; or, The 
Black Brothers. With 22 Illustrations by Richard 
Doyle. 2s, 6d. 

"This little fairy tale is by a master-hand. The story has a charming moral, and 
the writing is so excellent, that it would be hard to say which it will give most plea- 
sure to, the very wise man or the very simple child." — Examiner. 

VII. 

NOTES on the CONSTRUCTION of SHEEP-FOLDS. 
8vo, is. 

ft A pamphlet on the doctrine and discipline of the Church of Christ." — Britannia. 



10 



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i. 

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LEIGH HUNT : with 
Reminiscences of Friends and Contemporaries. 3 vols, 
post 8vo, with Portraits, 15*. cloth. 

" These volumes contain a personal recollection of the literature and politics, as 
well as some of the most remarkable literary men and politicians, of the last fifty years. 
The reminiscences are varied by sketches of manners during the same period, and by 
critical remarks on various topics. They are also extended by boyish recollection, 
family tradition, and contemporary reading ; so that we have a sort of social picture of 
almost a century, with its fluctuations of public fortune and its changes of fashions, 
manners, and opinions." — Spectator. 

II. 

THE TOWN : its Memorable Characters and Events. 2 
vols, post 8vo, with 45 Illustrations, 1/. 4.S. cloth. 

" We will allow no higher enjoyment for a rational Englishman than to stroll 
leisurely through this marvellous town arm-in-arm with Mr. Leigh Hunt. He gives 
us the outpourings of a mind enriched with the most agreeable knowledge." — Times. 

III. 

MEN, WOMEN, AND BOOKS. 2 vols, post 8vo, with 
Portrait, 10s. cloth. 

" A book for a parlour-window, for a summer's eve, for a warm fireside, for a half- 
hour's leisure, for a whole day's luxury ; in any and every possible shape a charming 
companion." — Westminster Review. 

IV. 

IMAGINATION AND FANCY. 5*. cloth. 

" The very essence of the sunniest qualities of the English poets." — Atlas. 

V. 

WIT AND HUMOUR. 5*. cloth. 

"A book at once exhilarating and suggestive." — Athenaum. 

VI. 

A JAR OF HONEY FROM MOUNT HYBLA. 5*; 

" A book acceptable at all seasons." — Athenaum. 

VII. 

TABLE TALK. 3*. 6d. cloth. 

" Precisely the book we would take as a companion on the green lane walk." — Globe. 



SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 



1 1 



Worfcs of GDurar, ©Its, antr &cton Mtll 



i. 

SHIRLEY ; a Tale. By Currer Bell. A new Edition. 
Crown 8vo, 6s, cloth. 

" The peculiar power which was so greatly admired in { Jane Eyre' is not absent 
from this book. It possesses deep interest, and an irresistible grasp of reality. There 
is a vividness and distinctness of conception in it quite marvellous. The power of 
graphic delineation and expression is intense. There are scenes which, for strength 

and delicacy of emotion, are not transcended in the range of English fiction 

The women will be the favourites with all readers. Both are charming. The views 
of human nature which pervade the volumes, are healthy, tolerant, and encouraging." 
— Examiner. 

" ' Shirley ' is an admirable book ; genuine English in the independence and up- 
rightness of the tone of thought, in the purity of heart and feeling which pervade it, 
in the masculine vigour of its conception of character, and in style and diction. It is 
a tale of passion and character, and a veritable triumph of pyschology." — Morning 
Chronicle. 

" ' Shirley' is very clever. The faculty of graphic description, strong imagination, 
fervid and masculine diction, analytic skill, all are visible. Gems of rare thought and 
glorious passion shine here and there throughout the volumes." — Times. 

II. 

JANE EYRE : an Autobiography. By Currer Bell. 
Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, 6s. cloth. 

" 'Jane Eyre' is a remarkable production. Freshness and originality, truth and 
passion, singular felicity in the description of natural scenery and in the analyzation 
of human thought, enable this tale to stand boldly out from the mass, and to assume 
its own place in the bright field of romantic literature. We could not but be struck 
with the raciness and ability of the work, by the independent sway of a thoroughly 
original and unworn pen, by the masculine current of noble thoughts, and the un- 
flinching dissection of the dark yet truthful character." — Times. 

III. 

WUTHERING HEIGHTS and AGNES GREY. By 
Ellis and Acton Bell. With a Selection of their 
Literary Remains, and a Biographical Notice of both 
Authors, by Currer Bell. Crown 8vo, 6s. cloth. 

"* Wuthering Heights* bears the stamp of a profoundly individual, strong, and 
passionate mind. The memoir is one of the most touching chapters in literary 
biography." — Nonconformist. 

IV. 

POEMS. By Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Fcap. 
8vo, 4*. cloth. 

"Remarkable as being the first efforts of undoubted genius to find some congenial 
form of expression. They are not common verses, but show many of the vigorous 
qualities in the prose works of the same writers : the love of nature which charac- 
terises Currer Bell's prose works pervades the whole of the present volume." — Christian 
Remembrancer. 

A 



12 



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i. 



WOMEN OF CHRISTIANITY, EXEMPLARY FOR 
PIETY AND CHARITY. By Miss Julia 
Kavanagh. Post 8vo, with Portraits. Price 12s. in 



" The authoress has supplied a great desideratum both in female biography and 
morals. Her examples of female excellence are taken from the earliest ages of the 
church, and come down to recent times : she has a niche in her timple for every one 
who deserves a position there. The style is clear, the matter solid, and the con- 
clusions just." — Globe. 

u A more noble and dignified tribute to the virtues of her sex we can scarcely 
imagine than this work, which Miss Kavanagh has reared, like a monumental tablet, 
to the memory of the * Women of Christianity.' To this grateful task the gifted 
authoress has brought talents of no ordinary range, and, more than all, a spirit of 
eminent piety, and admiration for the good and beautiful, and a heart entirely absorbed 
in the work she has so ably accomplished." — Church of England Quarterly Review. 

"The women portrayed have been selected from every period of the Christian era; 
the same range of female biography is taken by no other volume ; and an equal skill 
in the delineation of characters is rarely to be found. The author has accomplished 
her task with intelligence and feeling, and with general fairness and truth : she 
displays subtle penetration and broad sympathy, joining therewith purity and pious 
sentiment, intellectual refinement and large-heartedness, and writes with unusual 
elegance and felicity." — Nonconformist. 

" Miss Kavanagh has wisely chosen that noble succession of saintly women who, in 
all ages of Christianity, are united by their devotion to the sick, the wretched, and 
the destitute." — Guardian. 



WOMAN IN FRANCE DURING THE i8th CEN- 
TURY. By Julia Kavanagh. 2 vols, post 8vo, 
with Eight Portraits. 12s. in embossed cloth. 



" Miss Kavanagh has undertaken a delicate task, and she has performed it on the 
whole with discretion and judgment. Her volumes may lie on any drawing-room 
table without scandal, and may be read by all but her youngest countrywomen without 
risk." — Quarterly Review. 

" Elegantly illustrated with a series of line engravings, this work has claims upon 
the boudoir- table, in right of its guise and garniture. But its letterpress is superior to 
the general staple of books of this class. Miss Kavanagh proves herself adroit in sketch- 
ing, and solid in judging character. Which among us will be ever tired of reading 
about the women of France ? especially when they are marshalled so agreeably and 
discreetly as in the pages before us." — Athenaum. 

"There is a great deal of cleverness and good taste in this book. The subject is 
handled with much delicacy and tact, and takes a wide range of examples. Miss 
Kavanagh's volumes are to be commended as a compact view of a period of always 
reviving interest (now more than usually attractive) pleasingly executed. The book 
shows often an original tone of remark, and always a graceful and becoming one." — 




II. 



Examiner. 



SMITH, ELDER AND CO. 13 



J^ltscellaneous. 



POETICS : AN ESSAY ON POETRY. 

By E. S. DALLAS, Esq. 
In One Volume, crown 8vo. Price 9*. cloth. 

" This book is one of the most remarkable emanations of the present time. It 
actually overflows with the nectar of thought. * Poetics ' should be read, for no 
reviewer can present a perfect idea of the richness of language and aphorism which 
run, like silver threads, through the soberer line of argument. — Critic, 

** A remarkable work — the work of a scholar, a critic, a thinker. It contains 
many novel views and much excellent matter. The style is fresh, independent, 
sharp, clear, and often felicitous. Amidst the intricacies of his complex subject, Mr. 
Dallas moves with the calm precision of one who knows the labyrinth." — Leader. 

" A mind at once acute and imaginative, a range of reading so wide as to seem 
marvellous, a power of classification which we have rarely seen equalled, are the 
characteristics shown on every page. The work is deserving of a most attentive 
perusal." — Free Church Magazine. 

CONVERSATIONS OF GOETHE with ECKER- 
MANN. Translated from the German by John Oxen- 
ford. 2 vols, post 8vo, 10s. cloth. 

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